Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding 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. In light of that, when we looked at Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group (SZSE:002614) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group, this is the formula:

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

0.027 = CN¥149m ÷ (CN¥8.0b - CN¥2.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group has an ROCE of 2.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Leisure industry average of 6.2%.

View our latest analysis for Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group

In the above chart we have measured Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group doesn't inspire confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 12%, but since then they've fallen to 2.7%. 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, Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 31% 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.

The Key Takeaway

We're a bit apprehensive about Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last five years have experienced a 39% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Xiamen Comfort Science&Technology Group that we think you should be aware of.

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.