Returns Are Gaining Momentum At Chia Tai Enterprises International (HKG:3839)

If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So when we looked at Chia Tai Enterprises International (HKG:3839) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Chia Tai Enterprises International:

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

0.0093 = US$2.5m ÷ (US$346m - US$80m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, Chia Tai Enterprises International has an ROCE of 0.9%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Food industry average of 8.2%.

Check out our latest analysis for Chia Tai Enterprises International

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're interested in investigating Chia Tai Enterprises International's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Even though ROCE is still low in absolute terms, it's good to see it's heading in the right direction. More specifically, while the company has kept capital employed relatively flat over the last five years, the ROCE has climbed 28% in that same time. Basically the business is generating higher returns from the same amount of capital and that is proof that there are improvements in the company's efficiencies. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. The current liabilities has increased to 23% of total assets, so the business is now more funded by the likes of its suppliers or short-term creditors. It's worth keeping an eye on this because as the percentage of current liabilities to total assets increases, some aspects of risk also increase.

In Conclusion...

To bring it all together, Chia Tai Enterprises International has done well to increase the returns it's generating from its capital employed. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 41% in the last five years. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

On a final note, we found 4 warning signs for Chia Tai Enterprises International (2 can't be ignored) you should be aware of.

While Chia Tai Enterprises International may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.