If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's 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. Although, when we looked at Shaanxi Provincial Natural GasLtd (SZSE:002267), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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. The formula for this calculation on Shaanxi Provincial Natural GasLtd is:

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

0.085 = CN¥703m ÷ (CN¥13b - CN¥4.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

Thus, Shaanxi Provincial Natural GasLtd has an ROCE of 8.5%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 9.2%.

View our latest analysis for Shaanxi Provincial Natural GasLtd

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 want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Shaanxi Provincial Natural GasLtd, check out these free graphs here.

The Trend Of ROCE

Things have been pretty stable at Shaanxi Provincial Natural GasLtd, with its capital employed and returns on that capital staying somewhat the same for the last five years. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Shaanxi Provincial Natural GasLtd in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger.

The Bottom Line

In summary, Shaanxi Provincial Natural GasLtd isn't compounding its earnings but is generating stable returns on the same amount of capital employed. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 28% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. So if you're looking for a multi-bagger, the underlying trends indicate you may have better chances elsewhere.

One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Shaanxi Provincial Natural GasLtd that you might find interesting.

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.