Returns On Capital At Huaneng Power International (HKG:902) Have Hit The Brakes

What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Having said that, from a first glance at Huaneng Power International (HKG:902) 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?

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. To calculate this metric for Huaneng Power International, this is the formula:

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

0.062 = CN¥25b ÷ (CN¥565b - CN¥161b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, Huaneng Power International has an ROCE of 6.2%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 6.9% average generated by the Renewable Energy industry.

View our latest analysis for Huaneng Power International

In the above chart we have measured Huaneng Power International'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 analyst report for Huaneng Power International .

So How Is Huaneng Power International's ROCE Trending?

There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at Huaneng Power International. The company has employed 54% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 6.2%. 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.

What We Can Learn From Huaneng Power International's ROCE

Long story short, while Huaneng Power International has been reinvesting its capital, the returns that it's generating haven't increased. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 32% to shareholders over the last five years. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Huaneng Power International (of which 2 are significant!) that you should know about.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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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.