Spring Art Holdings Berhad (KLSE:SPRING) May Have Issues Allocating Its Capital

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Although, when we looked at Spring Art Holdings Berhad (KLSE:SPRING), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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 Spring Art Holdings Berhad:

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

0.0015 = RM129k ÷ (RM87m - RM4.5m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Therefore, Spring Art Holdings Berhad has an ROCE of 0.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Consumer Durables industry average of 10%.

Check out our latest analysis for Spring Art Holdings Berhad

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

How Are Returns Trending?

In terms of Spring Art Holdings Berhad's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 41% over the last five years. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. This could mean that the business is losing its competitive advantage or market share, because while more money is being put into ventures, it's actually producing a lower return - "less bang for their buck" per se.

On a related note, Spring Art Holdings Berhad has decreased its current liabilities to 5.1% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

Our Take On Spring Art Holdings Berhad's ROCE

We're a bit apprehensive about Spring Art Holdings Berhad because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. And long term shareholders have watched their investments stay flat over the last year. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

One more thing: We've identified 5 warning signs with Spring Art Holdings Berhad (at least 2 which are concerning) , and understanding them would certainly be useful.

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.

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

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.