We Like These Underlying Trends At HITEJINRO (KRX:000080)

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding 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. So when we looked at HITEJINRO (KRX:000080) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for HITEJINRO:

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

0.11 = ₩207b ÷ (₩4.0t - ₩2.0t) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

Therefore, HITEJINRO has an ROCE of 11%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Beverage industry average of 10%.

See our latest analysis for HITEJINRO

Above you can see how the current ROCE for HITEJINRO compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering HITEJINRO here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

HITEJINRO has not disappointed with their ROCE growth. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 86% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

On a side note, HITEJINRO's current liabilities are still rather high at 51% 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. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Bottom Line

As discussed above, HITEJINRO appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 58% return over the last five years. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing HITEJINRO that you might find interesting.

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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