Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer (HKG:1066) Is Reinvesting At Lower Rates Of Return

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. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, 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. Although, when we looked at Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer (HKG:1066), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer:

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

0.072 = CN¥2.1b ÷ (CN¥35b - CN¥6.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Therefore, Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer has an ROCE of 7.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Medical Equipment industry average of 8.5%.

See our latest analysis for Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 7.2% from 9.9% five years ago. 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

Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer's reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. Since the stock has declined 50% over the last five years, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. 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 final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer that we think you should be aware of.

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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.