OCB Berhad (KLSE:OCB) Will Be Hoping To Turn Its Returns On Capital Around

Simply Wall St
·3 min read

When researching a stock for investment, what can tell us that the company is in decline? Businesses in decline often have two underlying trends, firstly, a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining base of capital employed. This reveals that the company isn't compounding shareholder wealth because returns are falling and its net asset base is shrinking. And from a first read, things don't look too good at OCB Berhad (KLSE:OCB), so let's see why.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for OCB Berhad:

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

0.00045 = RM102k ÷ (RM294m - RM72m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

Therefore, OCB Berhad has an ROCE of 0.04%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Food industry average of 11%.

View our latest analysis for OCB Berhad

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Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for OCB Berhad's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how OCB Berhad 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

In terms of OCB Berhad's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 1.3% 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. Companies that exhibit these attributes tend to not be shrinking, but they can be mature and facing pressure on their margins from competition. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect OCB Berhad to turn into a multi-bagger.

The Bottom Line

In summary, it's unfortunate that OCB Berhad is generating lower returns from the same amount of capital. Investors must expect better things on the horizon though because the stock has risen 20% in the last five years. Either way, we aren't huge fans of the current trends and so with that we think you might find better investments elsewhere.

OCB Berhad does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for OCB Berhad that you might be interested in.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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