If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Wintime Energy GroupLtd (SHSE:600157) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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. To calculate this metric for Wintime Energy GroupLtd, this is the formula:

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

0.062 = CN¥5.3b ÷ (CN¥106b - CN¥20b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Wintime Energy GroupLtd has an ROCE of 6.2%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 5.6%, it's still a low return by itself.

In the above chart we have measured Wintime Energy GroupLtd's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Wintime Energy GroupLtd .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at Wintime Energy GroupLtd. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 6.2% and the business has deployed 32% more capital into its operations. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

On a side note, Wintime Energy GroupLtd has done well to reduce current liabilities to 19% of total assets over the last five years. This can eliminate some of the risks inherent in the operations because the business has less outstanding obligations to their suppliers and or short-term creditors than they did previously.

What We Can Learn From Wintime Energy GroupLtd's ROCE

In conclusion, Wintime Energy GroupLtd has been investing more capital into the business, but returns on that capital haven't increased. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 47% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. In any case, the stock doesn't have these traits of a multi-bagger discussed above, so if that's what you're looking for, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

Wintime Energy GroupLtd does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Wintime Energy GroupLtd that you might be interested in.

While Wintime Energy GroupLtd 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.