Be Wary Of TravelSky Technology (HKG:696) And Its Returns On Capital

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think TravelSky Technology (HKG:696) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 TravelSky Technology, this is the formula:

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

0.016 = CN¥329m ÷ (CN¥25b - CN¥5.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Thus, TravelSky Technology has an ROCE of 1.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 3.1%.

See our latest analysis for TravelSky Technology

In the above chart we have measured TravelSky Technology's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering TravelSky Technology here for free.

How Are Returns Trending?

In terms of TravelSky Technology's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 15% over the last five years. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, we've found that TravelSky Technology is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 34% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. In any case, the stock doesn't have these traits of a multi-bagger discussed above, so if that's what you're looking for, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for TravelSky Technology you'll probably want to know about.

While TravelSky Technology 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.