What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Second Chance Properties (SGX:528) so let's look a bit deeper.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Second Chance Properties:

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

0.056 = S$17m ÷ (S$369m - S$73m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2023).

Thus, Second Chance Properties has an ROCE of 5.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Specialty Retail industry average of 8.4%.

View our latest analysis for Second Chance Properties

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Second Chance Properties, check out these free graphs here.

What Can We Tell From Second Chance Properties' ROCE Trend?

Second Chance Properties has not disappointed with their ROCE growth. More specifically, while the company has kept capital employed relatively flat over the last five years, the ROCE has climbed 70% in that same time. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

The Bottom Line On Second Chance Properties' ROCE

As discussed above, Second Chance Properties appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. Investors may not be impressed by the favorable underlying trends yet because over the last five years the stock has only returned 34% to shareholders. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.

On a separate note, we've found 2 warning signs for Second Chance Properties you'll probably want to know about.