If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. 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. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group (SZSE:002497) so let's look a bit deeper.

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

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 Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group is:

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

0.17 = CN¥2.2b ÷ (CN¥16b - CN¥3.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group has an ROCE of 17%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Chemicals industry average of 5.5% it's much better.

See our latest analysis for Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group 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 Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

The trends we've noticed at Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group are quite reassuring. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 17%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 260%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

In Conclusion...

All in all, it's terrific to see that Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 96% return over the last five years. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group does have some risks, we noticed 3 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about.

While Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.