There's Been No Shortage Of Growth Recently For Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media's (HKG:811) Returns On Capital

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media's (HKG:811) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

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. The formula for this calculation on Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media is:

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

0.10 = CN¥1.1b ÷ (CN¥18b - CN¥7.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Thus, Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media has an ROCE of 10%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Retail Distributors industry average of 4.4% it's much better.

See our latest analysis for Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media

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'd like to look at how Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media's ROCE Trending?

The trends we've noticed at Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media are quite reassuring. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 10%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 40%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

On a side note, Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media's current liabilities are still rather high at 42% of total assets. 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.

In Conclusion...

All in all, it's terrific to see that Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Considering the stock has delivered 4.6% to its stockholders over the last five years, it may be fair to think that investors aren't fully aware of the promising trends yet. Given that, we'd look further into this stock in case it has more traits that could make it multiply in the long term.

Like most companies, Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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.

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