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. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Although, when we looked at AK Medical Holdings (HKG:1789), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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

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. The formula for this calculation on AK Medical Holdings is:

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

0.10 = CN¥247m ÷ (CN¥3.1b - CN¥640m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, AK Medical Holdings has an ROCE of 10%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 9.9%.

See our latest analysis for AK Medical Holdings

Above you can see how the current ROCE for AK Medical Holdings 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 AK Medical Holdings.

So How Is AK Medical Holdings' ROCE Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at AK Medical Holdings doesn't inspire confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 20%, but since then they've fallen to 10%. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.

What We Can Learn From AK Medical Holdings' ROCE

In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that AK Medical Holdings is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. Furthermore the stock has climbed 43% over the last five years, it would appear that investors are upbeat about the future. So should these growth trends continue, we'd be optimistic on the stock going forward.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for AK Medical Holdings that we think 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.