If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base 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. So on that note, COSCO SHIPPING Development (HKG:2866) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for COSCO SHIPPING Development, this is the formula:

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

0.043 = CN¥4.0b ÷ (CN¥123b - CN¥30b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

So, COSCO SHIPPING Development has an ROCE of 4.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Trade Distributors industry average of 5.8%.

In the above chart we have measured COSCO SHIPPING Development'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 COSCO SHIPPING Development .

What Can We Tell From COSCO SHIPPING Development's ROCE Trend?

Even though ROCE is still low in absolute terms, it's good to see it's heading in the right direction. Looking at the data, we can see that even though capital employed in the business has remained relatively flat, the ROCE generated has risen by 43% over the last five years. So our take on this is that the business has increased efficiencies to generate these higher returns, all the while not needing to make any additional investments. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

One more thing to note, COSCO SHIPPING Development has decreased current liabilities to 24% of total assets over this period, which effectively reduces the amount of funding from suppliers or short-term creditors. This tells us that COSCO SHIPPING Development has grown its returns without a reliance on increasing their current liabilities, which we're very happy with.

The Bottom Line

As discussed above, COSCO SHIPPING Development appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. And with a respectable 72% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. 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 COSCO SHIPPING Development we've found 2 warning signs (1 is a bit unpleasant!) 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.