Yahoo Finance Some Investors May Be Worried About Senheng New Retail Berhad's (KLSE:SENHENG) Returns On Capital
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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Although, when we looked at Senheng New Retail Berhad (KLSE:SENHENG), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.
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. The formula for this calculation on Senheng New Retail Berhad is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.14 = RM92m ÷ (RM903m - RM233m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
So, Senheng New Retail Berhad has an ROCE of 14%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty standard return but compared to the Specialty Retail industry average it falls behind.
View our latest analysis for Senheng New Retail Berhad
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Senheng New Retail Berhad compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Senheng New Retail Berhad.
What Does the ROCE Trend For Senheng New Retail Berhad Tell Us?
In terms of Senheng New Retail Berhad's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last three years, returns on capital have decreased to 14% from 19% three years ago. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.
On a side note, Senheng New Retail Berhad has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 26% 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. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.
The Bottom Line
In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Senheng New Retail Berhad is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. These growth trends haven't led to growth returns though, since the stock has fallen 32% over the last year. So we think it'd be worthwhile to look further into this stock given the trends look encouraging.
One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing Senheng New Retail Berhad that you might find interesting.
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.
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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
