Has Fibon Berhad (KLSE:FIBON) Got What It Takes To Become A Multi-Bagger?

If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. 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. Although, when we looked at Fibon Berhad (KLSE:FIBON), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Fibon Berhad, this is the formula:

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

0.028 = RM1.4m ÷ (RM52m - RM1.3m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2020).

Therefore, Fibon Berhad has an ROCE of 2.8%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Electrical industry average of 5.8%.

View our latest analysis for Fibon Berhad

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Fibon Berhad's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Fibon Berhad has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

In terms of Fibon Berhad's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 2.8% from 9.6% five years ago. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

In Conclusion...

From the above analysis, we find it rather worrisome that returns on capital and sales for Fibon Berhad have fallen, meanwhile the business is employing more capital than it was five years ago. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 48% from where it was five years ago. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

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

While Fibon Berhad may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

If you decide to trade Fibon Berhad, use the lowest-cost* platform that is rated #1 Overall by Barron’s, Interactive Brokers. Trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds on 135 markets, all from a single integrated account. Promoted

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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.