What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Although, when we looked at Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd (SZSE:301158), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd:

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

0.065 = CN¥84m ÷ (CN¥1.6b - CN¥269m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd has an ROCE of 6.5%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 7.0% average generated by the Energy Services industry.

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 Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd's ROCE Trend?

In terms of Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 9.6%, but since then they've fallen to 6.5%. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

On a side note, Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 17% 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. 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 Key Takeaway

In summary, Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd 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 year, the stock has given away 30% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. In any case, the stock doesn't have these traits of a multi-bagger discussed above, so if that's what you're looking for, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd that you might find interesting.

While Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.