There Are Reasons To Feel Uneasy About Techbond Group Berhad's (KLSE:TECHBND) Returns On Capital

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount 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. Having said that, from a first glance at Techbond Group Berhad (KLSE:TECHBND) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

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 Techbond Group Berhad:

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

0.065 = RM9.9m ÷ (RM160m - RM7.1m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

So, Techbond Group Berhad has an ROCE of 6.5%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Chemicals industry average of 9.4%.

See our latest analysis for Techbond Group 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 want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Techbond Group Berhad, check out these free graphs here.

What Can We Tell From Techbond Group Berhad's ROCE Trend?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Techbond Group Berhad, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 28% over the last five years. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

On a side note, Techbond Group Berhad has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 4.4% 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.

The Bottom Line

Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by Techbond Group Berhad's reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. Since the stock has gained an impressive 35% over the last three years, investors must think there's better things to come. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

On a final note, we found 3 warning signs for Techbond Group Berhad (2 make us uncomfortable) you should be aware of.

While Techbond Group 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.

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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.