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. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount 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. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Sicher Elevator (SZSE:301056) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Sicher Elevator, this is the formula:

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

0.069 = CN¥56m ÷ (CN¥1.5b - CN¥648m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Sicher Elevator has an ROCE of 6.9%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 6.1% average generated by the Machinery industry.

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Sicher Elevator's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Sicher Elevator has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of Sicher Elevator's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is Sicher Elevator's ROCE Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Sicher Elevator, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 6.9% from 11% five years ago. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

Another thing to note, Sicher Elevator has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 44%. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

The Key Takeaway

While returns have fallen for Sicher Elevator in recent times, we're encouraged to see that sales are growing and that the business is reinvesting in its operations. However, despite the promising trends, the stock has fallen 15% over the last year, so there might be an opportunity here for astute investors. So we think it'd be worthwhile to look further into this stock given the trends look encouraging.

On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for Sicher Elevator that we think you should be aware of.

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.