Be Wary Of Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad (KLSE:TNLOGIS) And Its Returns On Capital

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Having said that, from a first glance at Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad (KLSE:TNLOGIS) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad:

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

0.039 = RM64m ÷ (RM2.1b - RM443m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

Therefore, Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad has an ROCE of 3.9%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Transportation industry average of 4.9%.

Check out our latest analysis for Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad

In the above chart we have measured Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

How Are Returns Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 3.9% from 10% five years ago. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

In Conclusion...

In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. These growth trends haven't led to growth returns though, since the stock has fallen 61% over the last five years. So we think it'd be worthwhile to look further into this stock given the trends look encouraging.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad (including 1 which is a bit unpleasant) .

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.