What underlying fundamental trends can indicate that a company might be in decline? More often than not, we'll see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining amount of capital employed. This indicates to us that the business is not only shrinking the size of its net assets, but its returns are falling as well. Having said that, after a brief look, Singapore Shipping (SGX:S19) we aren't filled with optimism, but let's investigate further.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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 Singapore Shipping, this is the formula:

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

0.061 = US$10m ÷ (US$183m - US$14m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

Thus, Singapore Shipping has an ROCE of 6.1%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Shipping industry average of 8.4%.

Check out our latest analysis for Singapore Shipping

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Singapore Shipping's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Singapore Shipping has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

The Trend Of ROCE

We are a bit worried about the trend of returns on capital at Singapore Shipping. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 7.9% that they were earning five years ago. And on the capital employed front, the business is utilizing roughly the same amount of capital as it was back then. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Singapore Shipping to turn into a multi-bagger.

The Key Takeaway

In the end, the trend of lower returns on the same amount of capital isn't typically an indication that we're looking at a growth stock. And, the stock has remained flat over the last five years, so investors don't seem too impressed either. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

One final note, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Singapore Shipping (including 1 which is concerning) .

While Singapore Shipping 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.