Here's What To Make Of Wellcall Holdings Berhad's (KLSE:WELLCAL) Returns On Capital

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. 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. So when we looked at Wellcall Holdings Berhad (KLSE:WELLCAL), they do have a high ROCE, but we weren't exactly elated from how returns are trending.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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. To calculate this metric for Wellcall Holdings Berhad, this is the formula:

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

0.29 = RM36m ÷ (RM142m - RM15m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Thus, Wellcall Holdings Berhad has an ROCE of 29%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Machinery industry average of 9.1%.

See our latest analysis for Wellcall Holdings Berhad

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Wellcall Holdings Berhad compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Can We Tell From Wellcall Holdings Berhad's ROCE Trend?

There hasn't been much to report for Wellcall Holdings Berhad's returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So it may not be a multi-bagger in the making, but given the decent 29% return on capital, it'd be difficult to find fault with the business's current operations. On top of that you'll notice that Wellcall Holdings Berhad has been paying out a large portion (82%) of earnings in the form of dividends to shareholders. If the company is in fact lacking growth opportunities, that's one of the viable alternatives for the money.

The Bottom Line On Wellcall Holdings Berhad's ROCE

Although is allocating it's capital efficiently to generate impressive returns, it isn't compounding its base of capital, which is what we'd see from a multi-bagger. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 19% in the last five years. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

Like most companies, Wellcall Holdings Berhad does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high returns on equity.

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