Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating North Electro-OpticLtd (SHSE:600184), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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. To calculate this metric for North Electro-OpticLtd, this is the formula:

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

0.015 = CN¥38m ÷ (CN¥4.4b - CN¥1.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

So, North Electro-OpticLtd has an ROCE of 1.5%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Aerospace & Defense industry average of 5.0%.

View our latest analysis for North Electro-OpticLtd

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'd like to look at how North Electro-OpticLtd has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is North Electro-OpticLtd's ROCE Trending?

There hasn't been much to report for North Electro-OpticLtd's returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. With that in mind, unless investment picks up again in the future, we wouldn't expect North Electro-OpticLtd to be a multi-bagger going forward.

On a side note, North Electro-OpticLtd's current liabilities are still rather high at 42% of total assets. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

What We Can Learn From North Electro-OpticLtd's ROCE

We can conclude that in regards to North Electro-OpticLtd's returns on capital employed and the trends, there isn't much change to report on. Since the stock has declined 28% over the last five years, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. All in all, the inherent trends aren't typical of multi-baggers, so if that's what you're after, we think you might have more luck elsewhere.

Like most companies, North Electro-OpticLtd does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high 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.