If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So on that note, Lysaght Galvanized Steel Berhad (KLSE:LYSAGHT) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.
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 Lysaght Galvanized Steel Berhad:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.022 = RM3.7m ÷ (RM176m - RM7.5m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
Therefore, Lysaght Galvanized Steel Berhad has an ROCE of 2.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Metals and Mining industry average of 8.2%.
Check out our latest analysis for Lysaght Galvanized Steel Berhad
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'd like to look at how Lysaght Galvanized Steel Berhad has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of Lysaght Galvanized Steel Berhad's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
While the ROCE isn't as high as some other companies out there, it's great to see it's on the up. Looking at the data, we can see that even though capital employed in the business has remained relatively flat, the ROCE generated has risen by 578% over the last five years. So our take on this is that the business has increased efficiencies to generate these higher returns, all the while not needing to make any additional investments. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.
As discussed above, Lysaght Galvanized Steel Berhad appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 46% return over the last five years. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.
One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Lysaght Galvanized Steel Berhad (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored) .
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.
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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.