We Like These Underlying Return On Capital Trends At Hosen Group (Catalist:5EV)

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? 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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So on that note, Hosen Group (Catalist:5EV) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Hosen Group:

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

0.08 = S$2.9m ÷ (S$53m - S$17m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

Thus, Hosen Group has an ROCE of 8.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Consumer Retailing industry average of 6.9%.

See our latest analysis for Hosen Group

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Hosen Group's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating Hosen Group's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From Hosen Group's ROCE Trend?

Hosen Group is showing promise given that its ROCE is trending up and to the right. Looking at the data, we can see that even though capital employed in the business has remained relatively flat, the ROCE generated has risen by 90% over the last five years. Basically the business is generating higher returns from the same amount of capital and that is proof that there are improvements in the company's efficiencies. It's worth looking deeper into this though because while it's great that the business is more efficient, it might also mean that going forward the areas to invest internally for the organic growth are lacking.

What We Can Learn From Hosen Group's ROCE

As discussed above, Hosen Group appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. Investors may not be impressed by the favorable underlying trends yet because over the last five years the stock has only returned 32% to shareholders. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.

On a final note, we've found 4 warning signs for Hosen Group that we think you should be aware of.

While Hosen Group 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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