Powerwell Holdings Berhad (KLSE:PWRWELL) Might Be Having Difficulty Using Its Capital Effectively

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? 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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Powerwell Holdings Berhad (KLSE:PWRWELL) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Powerwell Holdings Berhad is:

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

0.11 = RM9.6m ÷ (RM139m - RM53m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, Powerwell Holdings Berhad has an ROCE of 11%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 11%.

See our latest analysis for Powerwell Holdings 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 Powerwell Holdings 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

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Powerwell Holdings Berhad, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 11% from 31% five years ago. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

What We Can Learn From Powerwell Holdings Berhad's ROCE

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for Powerwell Holdings Berhad. However, total returns to shareholders over the last three years have been flat, which could indicate these growth trends potentially aren't accounted for yet by investors. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.

On a final note, we found 4 warning signs for Powerwell Holdings Berhad (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.

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.