There's Been No Shortage Of Growth Recently For BH Global's (SGX:BQN) Returns On Capital

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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So when we looked at BH Global (SGX:BQN) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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 BH Global:

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

0.036 = S$2.3m ÷ (S$88m - S$23m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Therefore, BH Global has an ROCE of 3.6%. 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

BH Global has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 3.6% on its capital. In addition to that, BH Global is employing 102% more capital than previously which is expected of a company that's trying to break into profitability. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, both common traits of a multi-bagger.

One more thing to note, BH Global has decreased current liabilities to 26% of total assets over this period, which effectively reduces the amount of funding from suppliers or short-term creditors. This tells us that BH Global has grown its returns without a reliance on increasing their current liabilities, which we're very happy with.

In Conclusion...

In summary, it's great to see that BH Global has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. Since the stock has returned a solid 48% to shareholders over the last five years, it's fair to say investors are beginning to recognize these changes. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if BH Global can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

On a final note, we found 4 warning signs for BH Global (1 is potentially serious) 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.