Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. In light of that, when we looked at Wai Chi Holdings (HKG:1305) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.
What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?
Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for Wai Chi Holdings, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.02 = HK$19m ÷ (HK$2.7b - HK$1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).
So, Wai Chi Holdings has an ROCE of 2.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Semiconductor industry average of 6.9%.
See our latest analysis for Wai Chi Holdings
While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you're interested in investigating Wai Chi Holdings' past further, check out this free graph covering Wai Chi Holdings' past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
In terms of Wai Chi Holdings' historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 2.0% from 6.6% five years ago. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.
On a separate but related note, it's important to know that Wai Chi Holdings has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 65%, which we'd consider pretty high. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.
The Bottom Line On Wai Chi Holdings' ROCE
Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for Wai Chi Holdings. And there could be an opportunity here if other metrics look good too, because the stock has declined 11% in the last five years. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.
On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for Wai Chi Holdings that we think you should be aware of.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.