What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Having said that, from a first glance at Anhui Huaertai Chemical (SZSE:001217) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

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. The formula for this calculation on Anhui Huaertai Chemical is:

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

0.055 = CN¥122m ÷ (CN¥3.0b - CN¥818m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Anhui Huaertai Chemical has an ROCE of 5.5%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 5.9%.

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Anhui Huaertai Chemical's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of Anhui Huaertai Chemical.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Anhui Huaertai Chemical doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 5.5% from 23% five years ago. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

On a related note, Anhui Huaertai Chemical has decreased its current liabilities to 27% 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 Bottom Line

We're a bit apprehensive about Anhui Huaertai Chemical because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 14% from where it was year ago. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

One more thing: We've identified 4 warning signs with Anhui Huaertai Chemical (at least 1 which can't be ignored) , and understanding them would certainly be useful.

While Anhui Huaertai Chemical 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.