If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out 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. So when we looked at Yankuang Energy Group (HKG:1171) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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. The formula for this calculation on Yankuang Energy Group is:

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

0.16 = CN¥35b ÷ (CN¥338b - CN¥120b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Yankuang Energy Group has an ROCE of 16%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Oil and Gas industry average of 6.5% it's much better.

Check out our latest analysis for Yankuang Energy Group

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Yankuang Energy Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Yankuang Energy Group.

So How Is Yankuang Energy Group's ROCE Trending?

We like the trends that we're seeing from Yankuang Energy Group. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 16%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 62%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Key Takeaway

All in all, it's terrific to see that Yankuang Energy Group is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has returned a staggering 552% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

One more thing, we've spotted 3 warning signs facing Yankuang Energy Group that you might find interesting.

While Yankuang Energy 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.