Why We Like The Returns At Sunfun Info (GTSM:5278)

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base 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 the ROCE trend of Sunfun Info (GTSM:5278) we really liked what we saw.

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. To calculate this metric for Sunfun Info, this is the formula:

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

0.50 = NT$227m ÷ (NT$689m - NT$234m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

Thus, Sunfun Info has an ROCE of 50%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Interactive Media and Services industry average of 12%.

Check out our latest analysis for Sunfun Info

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 Sunfun Info has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Sunfun Info 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 50% on its capital. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 104% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. We like this trend, because it tells us the company has profitable reinvestment opportunities available to it, and if it continues going forward that can lead to a multi-bagger performance.

On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. Effectively this means that suppliers or short-term creditors are now funding 34% of the business, which is more than it was five years ago. It's worth keeping an eye on this because as the percentage of current liabilities to total assets increases, some aspects of risk also increase.

The Bottom Line

In summary, it's great to see that Sunfun Info has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. And a remarkable 447% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

One more thing to note, we've identified 4 warning signs with Sunfun Info and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets here.

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