If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd (SHSE:605488), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd:

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

0.03 = CN¥53m ÷ (CN¥2.8b - CN¥1.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd has an ROCE of 3.0%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Chemicals industry average of 5.5%.

Check out our latest analysis for Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd

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 Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd Tell Us?

In terms of Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 3.0% from 34% five years ago. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

On a related note, Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd has decreased its current liabilities to 36% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, we've found that Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Unsurprisingly then, the total return to shareholders over the last year has been flat. 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.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Zhejiang Fulai New MaterialLtd we've found 5 warning signs (3 are potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.