Here's What's Concerning About Cnergenz Berhad's (KLSE:CNERGEN) Returns On Capital

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Cnergenz Berhad (KLSE:CNERGEN) 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?

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. The formula for this calculation on Cnergenz Berhad is:

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

0.021 = RM3.3m ÷ (RM190m - RM35m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

So, Cnergenz Berhad has an ROCE of 2.1%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Electronic industry average of 12%.

Check out our latest analysis for Cnergenz 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 , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of Cnergenz Berhad.

So How Is Cnergenz Berhad's ROCE Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Cnergenz Berhad, we didn't gain much confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 49%, but since then they've fallen to 2.1%. 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, Cnergenz Berhad has decreased its current liabilities to 18% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

The Bottom Line

From the above analysis, we find it rather worrisome that returns on capital and sales for Cnergenz Berhad have fallen, meanwhile the business is employing more capital than it was five years ago. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last year have experienced a 29% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. Unless there is a shift to a more positive trajectory in these metrics, we would look elsewhere.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Cnergenz Berhad (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .

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.