When it comes to investing, there are some useful financial metrics that can warn us when a business is potentially in trouble. Businesses in decline often have two underlying trends, firstly, a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining base of capital employed. This indicates to us that the business is not only shrinking the size of its net assets, but its returns are falling as well. So after we looked into Baiyin Nonferrous Group (SHSE:601212), the trends above didn't look too great.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Baiyin Nonferrous Group:

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

0.053 = CN¥1.4b ÷ (CN¥49b - CN¥23b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Baiyin Nonferrous Group has an ROCE of 5.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Metals and Mining industry average of 6.2%.

See our latest analysis for Baiyin Nonferrous Group

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Baiyin Nonferrous Group's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating Baiyin Nonferrous Group's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

There is reason to be cautious about Baiyin Nonferrous Group, given the returns are trending downwards. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 6.9% that they were earning five years ago. On top of that, it's worth noting that the amount of capital employed within the business has remained relatively steady. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. So because these trends aren't typically conducive to creating a multi-bagger, we wouldn't hold our breath on Baiyin Nonferrous Group becoming one if things continue as they have.

On a side note, Baiyin Nonferrous Group's current liabilities are still rather high at 48% of total assets. 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.

What We Can Learn From Baiyin Nonferrous Group's ROCE

All in all, the lower returns from the same amount of capital employed aren't exactly signs of a compounding machine. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 23% from where it was five years ago. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Baiyin Nonferrous Group (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should know about.

While Baiyin Nonferrous Group 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.