If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at TPC Plus Berhad (KLSE:TPC) so let's look a bit deeper.
Our free stock report includes 3 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in TPC Plus Berhad. Read for free now.Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?
Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for TPC Plus Berhad:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.19 = RM31m ÷ (RM324m - RM162m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).
Therefore, TPC Plus Berhad has an ROCE of 19%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 9.4% generated by the Food industry.
See our latest analysis for TPC Plus 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're interested in investigating TPC Plus Berhad's past further, check out this free graph covering TPC Plus Berhad's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
So How Is TPC Plus Berhad's ROCE Trending?
The trends we've noticed at TPC Plus Berhad are quite reassuring. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 19%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 36%. 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.
On a separate but related note, it's important to know that TPC Plus Berhad has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 50%, which we'd consider pretty high. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.
In Conclusion...
A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what TPC Plus Berhad has. Since the stock has only returned 23% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.
On a final note, we found 3 warning signs for TPC Plus Berhad (1 is significant) 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.