We Like China Hanking Holdings' (HKG:3788) Returns And Here's How They're Trending

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. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. With that in mind, the ROCE of China Hanking Holdings (HKG:3788) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

Understanding 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 China Hanking Holdings:

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

0.38 = CN¥575m ÷ (CN¥3.3b - CN¥1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Thus, China Hanking Holdings has an ROCE of 38%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 8.1% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Check out our latest analysis for China Hanking 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're interested in investigating China Hanking Holdings' past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From China Hanking Holdings' ROCE Trend?

Shareholders will be relieved that China Hanking Holdings has broken into profitability. The company now earns 38% on its capital, because five years ago it was incurring losses. While returns have increased, the amount of capital employed by China Hanking Holdings has remained flat over the period. With no noticeable increase in capital employed, it's worth knowing what the company plans on doing going forward in regards to reinvesting and growing the business. After all, a company can only become a long term multi-bagger if it continually reinvests in itself at high rates of return.

In another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 53%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. So this improvement in ROCE has come from the business' underlying economics, which is great to see. Nevertheless, there are some potential risks the company is bearing with current liabilities that high, so just keep that in mind.

In Conclusion...

In summary, we're delighted to see that China Hanking Holdings has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. And a remarkable 131% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

China Hanking Holdings does have some risks though, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for China Hanking Holdings that you might be interested in.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks 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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