If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So, when we ran our eye over Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd's (SZSE:301267) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

What Is 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 Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd:

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

0.14 = CN¥881m ÷ (CN¥7.3b - CN¥1.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd has an ROCE of 14%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Healthcare industry average of 11% it's much better.

In the above chart we have measured Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd .

How Are Returns Trending?

The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. The company has employed 374% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 14%. 14% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd has consistently earned this amount. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

On a side note, Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd has done well to reduce current liabilities to 14% of total assets over the last five years. Effectively suppliers now fund less of the business, which can lower some elements of risk.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up, Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. Yet over the last year the stock has declined 43%, so the decline might provide an opening. For that reason, savvy investors might want to look further into this company in case it's a prime investment.

If you're still interested in Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation for 301267 to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

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.