If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount 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 Zhejiang Walrus New Material (SZSE:003011) 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 Zhejiang Walrus New Material, this is the formula:

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

0.18 = CN¥272m ÷ (CN¥2.4b - CN¥880m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

Thus, Zhejiang Walrus New Material has an ROCE of 18%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Building industry average of 6.4% it's much better.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Zhejiang Walrus New Material compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

In terms of Zhejiang Walrus New Material's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 25%, but since then they've fallen to 18%. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

On a related note, Zhejiang Walrus New Material has decreased its current liabilities to 36% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

The Bottom Line

In summary, Zhejiang Walrus New Material is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And in the last three years, the stock has given away 59% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Zhejiang Walrus New Material (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .

While Zhejiang Walrus New Material 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.