To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So when we looked at Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker (TADAWUL:1214) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker, this is the formula:

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

0.098 = ر.س82m ÷ (ر.س1.6b - ر.س757m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

So, Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker has an ROCE of 9.8%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Trade Distributors industry average of 16%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker 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 analyst report for Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker has broken into the black (profitability) and we're sure it's a sight for sore eyes. The company now earns 9.8% on its capital, because five years ago it was incurring losses. Interestingly, the capital employed by the business has remained relatively flat, so these higher returns are either from prior investments paying off or increased efficiencies. That being said, while an increase in efficiency is no doubt appealing, it'd be helpful to know if the company does have any investment plans going forward. Because in the end, a business can only get so efficient.

On a side note, Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker's current liabilities are still rather high at 48% of total assets. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

The Key Takeaway

As discussed above, Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. And a remarkable 173% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

If you want to continue researching Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

While Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity.

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.