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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. In light of that, when we looked at Shenzhen Bestek Technology (SZSE:300822) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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 Shenzhen Bestek Technology, this is the formula:

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

0.017 = CN¥22m ÷ (CN¥1.6b - CN¥281m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Shenzhen Bestek Technology has an ROCE of 1.7%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Electrical industry average of 6.3%.

See our latest analysis for Shenzhen Bestek Technology

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 Shenzhen Bestek Technology's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

The Trend Of ROCE

In terms of Shenzhen Bestek Technology's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 35%, but since then they've fallen to 1.7%. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. This could mean that the business is losing its competitive advantage or market share, because while more money is being put into ventures, it's actually producing a lower return - "less bang for their buck" per se.

On a side note, Shenzhen Bestek Technology has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 18% 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.

What We Can Learn From Shenzhen Bestek Technology's ROCE

We're a bit apprehensive about Shenzhen Bestek Technology because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 28% from where it was three years ago. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

Shenzhen Bestek Technology does come with some risks though, we found 5 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is potentially serious...

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high 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.