Investors Could Be Concerned With Dialog Group Berhad's (KLSE:DIALOG) Returns On Capital

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. In light of that, when we looked at Dialog Group Berhad (KLSE:DIALOG) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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. The formula for this calculation on Dialog Group Berhad is:

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

0.042 = RM343m ÷ (RM9.5b - RM1.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

So, Dialog Group Berhad has an ROCE of 4.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Energy Services industry average of 9.8%.

View our latest analysis for Dialog Group Berhad

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Above you can see how the current ROCE for Dialog Group Berhad 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 Dialog Group Berhad .

What Can We Tell From Dialog Group Berhad's ROCE Trend?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Dialog Group Berhad doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 4.2% from 11% five years ago. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.

On a side note, Dialog Group Berhad has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 14% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

The Bottom Line

In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Dialog Group Berhad is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. These growth trends haven't led to growth returns though, since the stock has fallen 22% over the last five years. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.

Dialog Group Berhad could be trading at an attractive price in other respects, so you might find our free intrinsic value estimation for DIALOG on our platform quite valuable.

While Dialog Group Berhad may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.