Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? 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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So on that note, Wanguo International Mining Group (HKG:3939) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Wanguo International Mining Group:

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

0.19 = CN¥309m ÷ (CN¥2.2b - CN¥528m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Thus, Wanguo International Mining Group has an ROCE of 19%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 8.2% generated by the Metals and Mining industry.

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Wanguo International Mining Group's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Wanguo International Mining Group has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of Wanguo International Mining Group's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

The Trend Of ROCE

Wanguo International Mining Group is displaying some positive trends. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 19%. 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 82%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

What We Can Learn From Wanguo International Mining Group's ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Wanguo International Mining Group can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. Since the stock has returned a staggering 194% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation for 3939 that compares the share price and estimated value.

While Wanguo International Mining Group 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.