We Like These Underlying Return On Capital Trends At China Gold International Resources (TSE:CGG)

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at China Gold International Resources (TSE:CGG) so let's look a bit deeper.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for China Gold International Resources, this is the formula:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.12 = US$346m ÷ (US$3.4b - US$459m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

Thus, China Gold International Resources has an ROCE of 12%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 3.3% generated by the Metals and Mining industry.

Check out our latest analysis for China Gold International Resources

In the above chart we have measured China Gold International Resources' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for China Gold International Resources.

The Trend Of ROCE

We like the trends that we're seeing from China Gold International Resources. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 12%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 31% more capital is being employed now too. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

On a related note, the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets has decreased to 14%, which basically reduces it's funding from the likes of short-term creditors or suppliers. Therefore we can rest assured that the growth in ROCE is a result of the business' fundamental improvements, rather than a cooking class featuring this company's books.

The Key Takeaway

All in all, it's terrific to see that China Gold International Resources is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 93% return over the last five years. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if China Gold International Resources can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with China Gold International Resources and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

While China Gold International Resources isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.