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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry's (SHSE:600316) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

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

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry is:

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

0.000056 = CN¥297k ÷ (CN¥15b - CN¥9.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

So, Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry has an ROCE of 0.006%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Aerospace & Defense industry average of 4.4%.

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're interested in investigating Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry's past further, check out this free graph covering Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry Tell Us?

We're delighted to see that Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry is reaping rewards from its investments and has now broken into profitability. While the business was unprofitable in the past, it's now turned things around and is earning 0.006% on its capital. Interestingly, the capital employed by the business has remained relatively flat, so these higher returns are either from prior investments paying off or increased efficiencies. With no noticeable increase in capital employed, it's worth knowing what the company plans on doing going forward in regards to reinvesting and growing the business. Because in the end, a business can only get so efficient.

For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. The current liabilities has increased to 65% of total assets, so the business is now more funded by the likes of its suppliers or short-term creditors. Given it's pretty high ratio, we'd remind investors that having current liabilities at those levels can bring about some risks in certain businesses.

What We Can Learn From Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry's ROCE

In summary, we're delighted to see that Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry we've found 3 warning signs (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

While Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry 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.