The Returns At BBMG (HKG:2009) Aren't Growing

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Having said that, from a first glance at BBMG (HKG:2009) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper 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. To calculate this metric for BBMG, this is the formula:

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

0.054 = CN¥8.7b ÷ (CN¥283b - CN¥123b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Thus, BBMG has an ROCE of 5.4%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Basic Materials industry average of 13%.

See our latest analysis for BBMG

In the above chart we have measured BBMG's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is BBMG's ROCE Trending?

There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at BBMG. The company has consistently earned 5.4% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 106% in that time. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

On a separate but related note, it's important to know that BBMG has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 43%, which we'd consider pretty high. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

What We Can Learn From BBMG's ROCE

Long story short, while BBMG has been reinvesting its capital, the returns that it's generating haven't increased. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 55% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think BBMG has the makings of a multi-bagger.

BBMG does have some risks though, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for BBMG that you might be interested in.

While BBMG 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.