Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Shenzhen Bingchuan NetworkLtd (SZSE:300533) so let's look a bit deeper.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Shenzhen Bingchuan NetworkLtd is:

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

0.083 = CN¥147m ÷ (CN¥2.7b - CN¥920m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Shenzhen Bingchuan NetworkLtd has an ROCE of 8.3%. On its own that's a low return, but compared to the average of 3.8% generated by the Entertainment industry, it's much better.

View our latest analysis for Shenzhen Bingchuan NetworkLtd

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're interested in investigating Shenzhen Bingchuan NetworkLtd's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Shenzhen Bingchuan NetworkLtd is showing promise given that its ROCE is trending up and to the right. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 213% 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. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.

For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. Essentially the business now has suppliers or short-term creditors funding about 34% of its operations, which isn't ideal. Keep an eye out for future increases because when the ratio of current liabilities to total assets gets particularly high, this can introduce some new risks for the business.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, we're delighted to see that Shenzhen Bingchuan NetworkLtd has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. And a remarkable 158% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Shenzhen Bingchuan NetworkLtd, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should be aware of.

While Shenzhen Bingchuan NetworkLtd may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.