Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating Shanghai Jahwa United (SHSE:600315), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

Understanding 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. The formula for this calculation on Shanghai Jahwa United is:

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

0.051 = CN¥449m ÷ (CN¥12b - CN¥3.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Shanghai Jahwa United has an ROCE of 5.1%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Personal Products industry average of 9.3%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Shanghai Jahwa United 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 Shanghai Jahwa United.

The Trend Of ROCE

Things have been pretty stable at Shanghai Jahwa United, with its capital employed and returns on that capital staying somewhat the same for the last five years. It's not uncommon to see this when looking at a mature and stable business that isn't re-investing its earnings because it has likely passed that phase of the business cycle. So unless we see a substantial change at Shanghai Jahwa United in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger. With fewer investment opportunities, it makes sense that Shanghai Jahwa United has been paying out a decent 33% of its earnings to shareholders. Given the business isn't reinvesting in itself, it makes sense to distribute a portion of earnings among shareholders.

The Key Takeaway

In a nutshell, Shanghai Jahwa United has been trudging along with the same returns from the same amount of capital over the last five years. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 42% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think Shanghai Jahwa United has the makings of a multi-bagger.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Shanghai Jahwa United you'll probably want to know about.

While Shanghai Jahwa United 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.