AYS Ventures Berhad (KLSE:AYS) Knows How To Allocate Capital Effectively

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in AYS Ventures Berhad's (KLSE:AYS) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

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

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 AYS Ventures Berhad:

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

0.35 = RM148m ÷ (RM979m - RM551m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

So, AYS Ventures Berhad has an ROCE of 35%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Trade Distributors industry average of 5.0%.

View our latest analysis for AYS Ventures Berhad

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 AYS Ventures Berhad has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is AYS Ventures Berhad's ROCE Trending?

AYS Ventures Berhad is displaying some positive trends. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 35%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 82%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. Effectively this means that suppliers or short-term creditors are now funding 56% of the business, which is more than it was five years ago. Given it's pretty high ratio, we'd remind investors that having current liabilities at those levels can bring about some risks in certain businesses.

In Conclusion...

All in all, it's terrific to see that AYS Ventures Berhad is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Investors may not be impressed by the favorable underlying trends yet because over the last five years the stock has only returned 11% to shareholders. Given that, we'd look further into this stock in case it has more traits that could make it multiply in the long term.

If you want to know some of the risks facing AYS Ventures Berhad we've found 6 warning signs (2 don't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets here.

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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.