What Can The Trends At Fujian Holdings (HKG:181) Tell Us About Their Returns?

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Fujian Holdings' (HKG:181) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on Fujian Holdings is:

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

0.0019 = HK$809k ÷ (HK$430m - HK$14m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019).

Therefore, Fujian Holdings has an ROCE of 0.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 4.8%.

See our latest analysis for Fujian 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'd like to look at how Fujian Holdings has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Are Returns Trending?

We're delighted to see that Fujian Holdings is reaping rewards from its investments and is now generating some pre-tax profits. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 0.2% which is a sight for sore eyes. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 197% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. We like this trend, because it tells us the company has profitable reinvestment opportunities available to it, and if it continues going forward that can lead to a multi-bagger performance.

The Bottom Line

To the delight of most shareholders, Fujian Holdings has now broken into profitability. And since the stock has fallen 62% over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

If you want to continue researching Fujian Holdings, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

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. 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.
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