If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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 Ningbo Fujia Industrial (SHSE:603219) 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 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Ningbo Fujia Industrial:

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

0.16 = CN¥258m ÷ (CN¥2.7b - CN¥1.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Ningbo Fujia Industrial has an ROCE of 16%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 8.0% generated by the Consumer Durables industry.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ningbo Fujia Industrial compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Ningbo Fujia Industrial .

So How Is Ningbo Fujia Industrial's ROCE Trending?

In terms of Ningbo Fujia Industrial's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 16% from 25% five years ago. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

On a side note, Ningbo Fujia Industrial has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 41% 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. Either way, they're still at a pretty high level, so we'd like to see them fall further if possible.

The Bottom Line On Ningbo Fujia Industrial's ROCE

In summary, Ningbo Fujia Industrial is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Since the stock has declined 22% over the last year, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. 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'd like to know about the risks facing Ningbo Fujia Industrial, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

While Ningbo Fujia Industrial 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.