Which of the following formulas represents Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) is a key financial metric used to assess a company's efficiency in generating profits from its capital. The appropriate formula for ROCE is the ratio of operating profit (which is profit before interest and tax) to the capital employed. Capital employed is typically calculated as total assets minus current liabilities, resulting in the formula:

(Profit before interest and tax / (total assets - total liabilities)) * 100.

Option D accurately represents this formula because it captures the essence of ROCE by utilizing the operating profit in the numerator and effectively representing the employed capital in the denominator after adjusting for total liabilities, which gives a clearer picture of the long-term capital utilized in generating profits.

The other options do not represent ROCE correctly. For instance, although option A deals with profit and total assets, it doesn't account for the necessary adjustments for liabilities that are essential for calculating capital employed. Option B, while it relates to profitability and asset efficiency, is more of a broader ratio relationship than a direct calculation of ROCE. Finally, option C specifies profit before tax and financial costs, which deviates from the standard definition since it omits vital operational aspects by including tax effects that are not considered in ROCE.