Be Wary Of MBV International (HKG:1957) And Its Returns On Capital

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Having said that, from a first glance at MBV International (HKG:1957) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

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. The formula for this calculation on MBV International is:

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

0.073 = RM11m ÷ (RM162m - RM7.3m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

Therefore, MBV International has an ROCE of 7.3%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 7.3%.

See our latest analysis for MBV International

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for MBV International's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating MBV International's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Are Returns Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at MBV International doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last four years, returns on capital have decreased to 7.3% from 25% four years ago. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

On a side note, MBV International has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 4.5% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

Our Take On MBV International's ROCE

From the above analysis, we find it rather worrisome that returns on capital and sales for MBV International have fallen, meanwhile the business is employing more capital than it was four years ago. Yet despite these concerning fundamentals, the stock has performed strongly with a 22% return over the last year, so investors appear very optimistic. In any case, the current underlying trends don't bode well for long term performance so unless they reverse, we'd start looking elsewhere.

If you'd like to know more about MBV International, we've spotted 3 warning signs, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us.

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.