If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding (SHSE:601607) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding:

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

0.098 = CN¥8.9b ÷ (CN¥213b - CN¥122b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding has an ROCE of 9.8%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 11% average generated by the Healthcare industry.

View our latest analysis for Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding

In the above chart we have measured Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

In terms of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding's historical ROCE trend, it doesn't exactly demand attention. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 9.8% and the business has deployed 78% more capital into its operations. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

Another thing to note, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 57%. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

Our Take On Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding's ROCE

As we've seen above, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding's returns on capital haven't increased but it is reinvesting in the business. Unsurprisingly then, the total return to shareholders over the last five years has been flat. In any case, the stock doesn't have these traits of a multi-bagger discussed above, so if that's what you're looking for, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

If you're still interested in Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

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.