Returns On Capital Are Showing Encouraging Signs At BH Global (SGX:BQN)

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at BH Global (SGX:BQN) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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 BH Global:

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

0.033 = S$2.1m ÷ (S$86m - S$23m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, BH Global has an ROCE of 3.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Electrical industry average of 8.3%.

Check out our latest analysis for BH Global

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'd like to look at how BH Global has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

The Trend Of ROCE

The fact that BH Global is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 3.3% which is a sight for sore eyes. And unsurprisingly, like most companies trying to break into the black, BH Global is utilizing 84% more capital than it was five years ago. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

In another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 27%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. So this improvement in ROCE has come from the business' underlying economics, which is great to see.

The Key Takeaway

To the delight of most shareholders, BH Global has now broken into profitability. Given the stock has declined 30% in the last five years, this could be a good investment if the valuation and other metrics are also appealing. That being the case, research into the company's current valuation metrics and future prospects seems fitting.

One more thing: We've identified 5 warning signs with BH Global (at least 1 which can't be ignored) , and understanding these would certainly be useful.

While BH Global 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.