To avoid investing in a business that's in decline, there's a few financial metrics that can provide early indications of aging. More often than not, we'll see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining amount of capital employed. Ultimately this means that the company is earning less per dollar invested and on top of that, it's shrinking its base of capital employed. On that note, looking into Songcheng Performance DevelopmentLtd (SZSE:300144), we weren't too upbeat about how things were going.

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 Songcheng Performance DevelopmentLtd:

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

0.038 = CN¥346m ÷ (CN¥9.6b - CN¥580m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Thus, Songcheng Performance DevelopmentLtd has an ROCE of 3.8%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 5.2%.

Check out our latest analysis for Songcheng Performance DevelopmentLtd

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Songcheng Performance DevelopmentLtd compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Songcheng Performance DevelopmentLtd Tell Us?

We are a bit worried about the trend of returns on capital at Songcheng Performance DevelopmentLtd. To be more specific, the ROCE was 18% five years ago, but since then it has dropped noticeably. On top of that, it's worth noting that the amount of capital employed within the business has remained relatively steady. This combination can be indicative of a mature business that still has areas to deploy capital, but the returns received aren't as high due potentially to new competition or smaller margins. So because these trends aren't typically conducive to creating a multi-bagger, we wouldn't hold our breath on Songcheng Performance DevelopmentLtd becoming one if things continue as they have.

The Key Takeaway

All in all, the lower returns from the same amount of capital employed aren't exactly signs of a compounding machine. And long term shareholders have watched their investments stay flat over the last five years. Unless there is a shift to a more positive trajectory in these metrics, we would look elsewhere.

Songcheng Performance DevelopmentLtd could be trading at an attractive price in other respects, so you might find our free intrinsic value estimation on our platform quite valuable.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.