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. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So, when we ran our eye over Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd's (SZSE:301267) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd, this is the formula:

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

0.13 = CN¥875m ÷ (CN¥7.5b - CN¥975m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Thus, Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd has an ROCE of 13%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Healthcare industry average of 9.5% it's much better.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd 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 analyst report for Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd .

The Trend Of ROCE

While the returns on capital are good, they haven't moved much. The company has consistently earned 13% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 365% in that time. Since 13% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.

One more thing to note, even though ROCE has remained relatively flat over the last five years, the reduction in current liabilities to 13% of total assets, is good to see from a business owner's perspective. This can eliminate some of the risks inherent in the operations because the business has less outstanding obligations to their suppliers and or short-term creditors than they did previously.

What We Can Learn From Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd's ROCE

The main thing to remember is that Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. However, despite the favorable fundamentals, the stock has fallen 47% over the last year, so there might be an opportunity here for astute investors. For that reason, savvy investors might want to look further into this company in case it's a prime investment.

While Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation for 301267 on our platform.

While Huaxia Eye Hospital GroupLtd isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.

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