Returns On Capital At Perennial Energy Holdings (HKG:2798) Paint An Interesting Picture

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. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. However, after investigating Perennial Energy Holdings (HKG:2798), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Perennial Energy Holdings:

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

0.20 = CN¥339m ÷ (CN¥2.6b - CN¥918m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

So, Perennial Energy Holdings has an ROCE of 20%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 6.8% generated by the Oil and Gas industry.

View our latest analysis for Perennial Energy 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 want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Perennial Energy Holdings, check out these free graphs here.

How Are Returns Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Perennial Energy Holdings doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 41% over the last four years. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

On a related note, Perennial Energy Holdings has decreased its current liabilities to 35% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

In Conclusion...

While returns have fallen for Perennial Energy Holdings in recent times, we're encouraged to see that sales are growing and that the business is reinvesting in its operations. And long term investors must be optimistic going forward because the stock has returned a huge 303% to shareholders in the last year. So while the underlying trends could already be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

Perennial Energy Holdings does have some risks, we noticed 2 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

While Perennial Energy Holdings 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. 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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