Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. So on that note, Swancor Advanced Materials (SHSE:688585) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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. To calculate this metric for Swancor Advanced Materials, this is the formula:

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

0.086 = CN¥101m ÷ (CN¥1.6b - CN¥409m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, Swancor Advanced Materials has an ROCE of 8.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return, but it's much better than the Chemicals industry average of 6.1%.

See our latest analysis for Swancor Advanced Materials

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how Swancor Advanced Materials has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Swancor Advanced Materials Tell Us?

We're glad to see that ROCE is heading in the right direction, even if it is still low at the moment. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 8.6%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 48%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

In Conclusion...

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Swancor Advanced Materials has. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 13% in the last year. So researching this company further and determining whether or not these trends will continue seems justified.

While Swancor Advanced Materials looks impressive, no company is worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether 688585 is currently trading for a fair price.

While Swancor Advanced Materials 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.