Some Investors May Be Worried About Hengan International Group's (HKG:1044) Returns On Capital

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Having said that, from a first glance at Hengan International Group (HKG:1044) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

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Understanding 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. To calculate this metric for Hengan International Group, this is the formula:

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

0.12 = CN¥2.8b ÷ (CN¥40b - CN¥16b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

Therefore, Hengan International Group has an ROCE of 12%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Personal Products industry average of 13%.

See our latest analysis for Hengan International Group

In the above chart we have measured Hengan International Group'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 Hengan International Group for free.

What Can We Tell From Hengan International Group's ROCE Trend?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Hengan International Group, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 12% from 25% five years ago. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

On a related note, Hengan International Group has decreased its current liabilities to 40% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE. Keep in mind 40% is still pretty high, so those risks are still somewhat prevalent.

The Key Takeaway

To conclude, we've found that Hengan International Group is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 58% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. 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.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Hengan International Group 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.

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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.