Here's What To Make Of G.A. Holdings' (HKG:8126) Returns On Capital

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. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount 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. However, after investigating G.A. Holdings (HKG:8126), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

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. The formula for this calculation on G.A. Holdings is:

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

0.12 = HK$87m ÷ (HK$1.5b - HK$788m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

So, G.A. Holdings has an ROCE of 12%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Retail Distributors industry average of 7.7% it's much better.

Check out our latest analysis for G.A. 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'd like to look at how G.A. Holdings has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From G.A. Holdings' ROCE Trend?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at G.A. Holdings, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 12% from 16% five years ago. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

On a side note, G.A. Holdings' current liabilities have increased over the last five years to 51% of total assets, effectively distorting the ROCE to some degree. Without this increase, it's likely that ROCE would be even lower than 12%. What this means is that in reality, a rather large portion of the business is being funded by the likes of the company's suppliers or short-term creditors, which can bring some risks of its own.

The Key Takeaway

To conclude, we've found that G.A. Holdings is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 62% in the last five years. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with G.A. Holdings (including 2 which is are concerning) .

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.

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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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