There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Versalink Holdings' (Catalist:40N) returns on capital, so let's have a look.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?
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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Versalink Holdings:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.016 = RM781k ÷ (RM58m - RM9.4m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2022).
So, Versalink Holdings has an ROCE of 1.6%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Commercial Services industry average of 5.9%.
See our latest analysis for Versalink Holdings
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 Versalink Holdings has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What Can We Tell From Versalink Holdings' ROCE Trend?
We're delighted to see that Versalink Holdings is reaping rewards from its investments and has now broken into profitability. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's turned around, earning 1.6% which is no doubt a relief for some early shareholders. Additionally, the business is utilizing 27% less capital than it was five years ago, and taken at face value, that can mean the company needs less funds at work to get a return. The reduction could indicate that the company is selling some assets, and considering returns are up, they appear to be selling the right ones.
The Bottom Line
In a nutshell, we're pleased to see that Versalink Holdings has been able to generate higher returns from less capital. And given the stock has remained rather flat over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here if other metrics are strong. So researching this company further and determining whether or not these trends will continue seems justified.
One final note, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Versalink Holdings (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored) .