If you're looking at a mature business that's past the growth phase, what are some of the underlying trends that pop up? A business that's potentially in decline often shows two trends, a return on capital employed (ROCE) that's declining, and a base of capital employed that's also declining. Trends like this ultimately mean the business is reducing its investments and also earning less on what it has invested. On that note, looking into Genting Singapore (SGX:G13), we weren't too upbeat about how things were going.

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

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 Genting Singapore is:

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

0.025 = S$203m ÷ (S$8.8b - S$688m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

Therefore, Genting Singapore has an ROCE of 2.5%. On its own that's a low return, but compared to the average of 1.2% generated by the Hospitality industry, it's much better.

View our latest analysis for Genting Singapore

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Genting Singapore 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 Genting Singapore.

The Trend Of ROCE

We are a bit anxious about the trends of ROCE at Genting Singapore. To be more specific, today's ROCE was 8.4% five years ago but has since fallen to 2.5%. On top of that, the business is utilizing 25% less capital within its operations. The fact that both are shrinking is an indication that the business is going through some tough times. If these underlying trends continue, we wouldn't be too optimistic going forward.

In Conclusion...

In summary, it's unfortunate that Genting Singapore is shrinking its capital base and also generating lower returns. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last five years have experienced a 24% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Genting Singapore that we think 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.

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.