Is Million Hope Industries Holdings Limited’s (HKG:1897) 36% ROCE Any Good?

Today we are going to look at Million Hope Industries Holdings Limited (HKG:1897) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. In particular, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that can give us insight into how profitably the company is able to employ capital in its business.

First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.'

How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed?

Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:

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

Or for Million Hope Industries Holdings:

0.36 = HK$73m ÷ (HK$383m - HK$178m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2018.)

Therefore, Million Hope Industries Holdings has an ROCE of 36%.

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Check out our latest analysis for Million Hope Industries Holdings

Does Million Hope Industries Holdings Have A Good ROCE?

When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. In our analysis, Million Hope Industries Holdings's ROCE is meaningfully higher than the 7.3% average in the Building industry. I think that's good to see, since it implies the company is better than other companies at making the most of its capital. Regardless of the industry comparison, in absolute terms, Million Hope Industries Holdings's ROCE currently appears to be excellent.

SEHK:1897 Past Revenue and Net Income, May 26th 2019
SEHK:1897 Past Revenue and Net Income, May 26th 2019

When considering this metric, keep in mind that it is backwards looking, and not necessarily predictive. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. How cyclical is Million Hope Industries Holdings? You can see for yourself by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do Million Hope Industries Holdings's Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE?

Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets.

Million Hope Industries Holdings has total liabilities of HK$178m and total assets of HK$383m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 46% of its total assets. Million Hope Industries Holdings's ROCE is boosted somewhat by its middling amount of current liabilities.

The Bottom Line On Million Hope Industries Holdings's ROCE

Even so, it has a great ROCE, and could be an attractive prospect for further research. There might be better investments than Million Hope Industries Holdings out there, but you will have to work hard to find them . These promising businesses with rapidly growing earnings might be right up your alley.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.