Investors Will Want EVA Precision Industrial Holdings' (HKG:838) Growth In ROCE To Persist

What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at EVA Precision Industrial Holdings (HKG:838) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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

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. The formula for this calculation on EVA Precision Industrial Holdings is:

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

0.069 = HK$237m ÷ (HK$6.7b - HK$3.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

So, EVA Precision Industrial Holdings has an ROCE of 6.9%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 6.9%, it's still a low return by itself.

View our latest analysis for EVA Precision Industrial Holdings

Above you can see how the current ROCE for EVA Precision Industrial Holdings compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for EVA Precision Industrial Holdings.

What Does the ROCE Trend For EVA Precision Industrial Holdings Tell Us?

EVA Precision Industrial Holdings' ROCE growth is quite impressive. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 30% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.

On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. Effectively this means that suppliers or short-term creditors are now funding 49% of the business, which is more than it was five years ago. Given it's pretty high ratio, we'd remind investors that having current liabilities at those levels can bring about some risks in certain businesses.

In Conclusion...

To sum it up, EVA Precision Industrial Holdings is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that's impressive. Investors may not be impressed by the favorable underlying trends yet because over the last five years the stock has only returned 18% to shareholders. Given that, we'd look further into this stock in case it has more traits that could make it multiply in the long term.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with EVA Precision Industrial Holdings and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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.