Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So on that note, East China Engineering Science and Technology (SZSE:002140) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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. To calculate this metric for East China Engineering Science and Technology, this is the formula:

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

0.047 = CN¥255m ÷ (CN¥14b - CN¥8.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, East China Engineering Science and Technology has an ROCE of 4.7%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Construction industry average of 6.8%.

View our latest analysis for East China Engineering Science and Technology

Above you can see how the current ROCE for East China Engineering Science and Technology compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for East China Engineering Science and Technology.

So How Is East China Engineering Science and Technology's ROCE Trending?

The fact that East China Engineering Science and Technology is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 4.7% on its capital. In addition to that, East China Engineering Science and Technology is employing 98% more capital than previously which is expected of a company that's 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.

Another thing to note, East China Engineering Science and Technology has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 61%. 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. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Bottom Line On East China Engineering Science and Technology's ROCE

Long story short, we're delighted to see that East China Engineering Science and Technology's reinvestment activities have paid off and the company is now profitable. And with a respectable 78% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing East China Engineering Science and Technology, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

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.