Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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 looked at Hainan Mining (SHSE:601969) and its trend of ROCE, we really 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. To calculate this metric for Hainan Mining, this is the formula:

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

0.071 = CN¥568m ÷ (CN¥11b - CN¥3.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, Hainan Mining has an ROCE of 7.1%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Metals and Mining industry average of 6.4%.

Check out our latest analysis for Hainan Mining

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 want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Hainan Mining, check out these free graphs here.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Even though ROCE is still low in absolute terms, it's good to see it's heading in the right direction. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 7.1%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 55%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Hainan Mining thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

The Key Takeaway

All in all, it's terrific to see that Hainan Mining is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has returned a solid 52% to shareholders over the last five years, it's fair to say investors are beginning to recognize these changes. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with Hainan Mining and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

While Hainan Mining 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.