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. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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. In light of that, when we looked at Jinko Power Technology (SHSE:601778) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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. The formula for this calculation on Jinko Power Technology is:

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

0.033 = CN¥1.1b ÷ (CN¥43b - CN¥9.9b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, Jinko Power Technology has an ROCE of 3.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Renewable Energy industry average of 5.6%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Jinko Power Technology compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Jinko Power Technology for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Jinko Power Technology doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 3.3% from 9.4% 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. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.

On a related note, Jinko Power Technology has decreased its current liabilities to 23% 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 Bottom Line

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for Jinko Power Technology. And there could be an opportunity here if other metrics look good too, because the stock has declined 61% in the last three years. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.

On a final note, we found 3 warning signs for Jinko Power Technology (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable) 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.