BBR Holdings (S) (SGX:KJ5) Is Looking To Continue Growing Its Returns On Capital

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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 on that note, BBR Holdings (S) (SGX:KJ5) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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. The formula for this calculation on BBR Holdings (S) is:

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

0.065 = S$15m ÷ (S$324m - S$97m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, BBR Holdings (S) has an ROCE of 6.5%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 7.9% average generated by the Construction industry.

View our latest analysis for BBR Holdings (S)

roce

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for BBR Holdings (S)'s ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of BBR Holdings (S).

What Does the ROCE Trend For BBR Holdings (S) Tell Us?

We're delighted to see that BBR Holdings (S) is reaping rewards from its investments and has now broken into profitability. While the business was unprofitable in the past, it's now turned things around and is earning 6.5% on its capital. While returns have increased, the amount of capital employed by BBR Holdings (S) has remained flat over the period. So while we're happy that the business is more efficient, just keep in mind that could mean that going forward the business is lacking areas to invest internally for growth. Because in the end, a business can only get so efficient.

For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. Essentially the business now has suppliers or short-term creditors funding about 30% of its operations, which isn't ideal. It's worth keeping an eye on this because as the percentage of current liabilities to total assets increases, some aspects of risk also increase.

The Bottom Line On BBR Holdings (S)'s ROCE

In summary, we're delighted to see that BBR Holdings (S) has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 24% in the last five years. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

BBR Holdings (S) does come with some risks though, we found 5 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant...

While BBR Holdings (S) isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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.