Returns on Capital Paint A Bright Future For Chicony Electronics (TPE:2385)

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. With that in mind, the ROCE of Chicony Electronics (TPE:2385) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Chicony Electronics, this is the formula:

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

0.23 = NT$7.7b ÷ (NT$75b - NT$42b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

So, Chicony Electronics has an ROCE of 23%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 11% earned by companies in a similar industry.

See our latest analysis for Chicony Electronics

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Chicony Electronics compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Chicony Electronics here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Chicony Electronics has not disappointed with their ROCE growth. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 42% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So our take on this is that the business has increased efficiencies to generate these higher returns, all the while not needing to make any additional investments. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

On a separate but related note, it's important to know that Chicony Electronics has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 55%, which we'd consider pretty high. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

The Bottom Line On Chicony Electronics' ROCE

In summary, we're delighted to see that Chicony Electronics has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. Since the stock has returned a solid 57% to shareholders over the last five years, it's fair to say investors are beginning to recognize these changes. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

While Chicony Electronics looks impressive, no company is worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether 2385 is currently trading for a fair price.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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