Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd (SHSE:603338) Hasn't Managed To Accelerate Its Returns

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So, when we ran our eye over Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd's (SHSE:603338) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd, this is the formula:

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

0.18 = CN¥1.6b ÷ (CN¥14b - CN¥4.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd has an ROCE of 18%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 6.1% generated by the Machinery industry.

See our latest analysis for Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd .

The Trend Of ROCE

The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. The company has consistently earned 18% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 248% in that time. 18% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd has consistently earned this amount. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.

Another point to note, we noticed the company has increased current liabilities over the last five years. This is intriguing because if current liabilities hadn't increased to 33% of total assets, this reported ROCE would probably be less than18% because total capital employed would be higher.The 18% ROCE could be even lower if current liabilities weren't 33% of total assets, because the the formula would show a larger base of total capital employed. With that in mind, just be wary if this ratio increases in the future, because if it gets particularly high, this brings with it some new elements of risk.

The Bottom Line On Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd's ROCE

The main thing to remember is that Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. And given the stock has only risen 39% over the last five years, we'd suspect the market is beginning to recognize these trends. So because of the trends we're seeing, we'd recommend looking further into this stock to see if it has the makings of a multi-bagger.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

While Zhejiang Dingli MachineryLtd may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.