When we're researching a company, it's sometimes hard to find the warning signs, but there are some financial metrics that can help spot trouble early. Businesses in decline often have two underlying trends, firstly, a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining base of capital employed. Trends like this ultimately mean the business is reducing its investments and also earning less on what it has invested. Having said that, after a brief look, Pacific Radiance (SGX:RXS) we aren't filled with optimism, but let's investigate further.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Pacific Radiance:

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

0.11 = US$8.9m ÷ (US$111m - US$30m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

So, Pacific Radiance has an ROCE of 11%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Pacific Radiance

SGX:RXS Return on Capital Employed February 12th 2025

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Pacific Radiance compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Pacific Radiance for free.

How Are Returns Trending?

In terms of Pacific Radiance's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. About one year ago, returns on capital were 24%, however they're now substantially lower than that as we saw above. Meanwhile, capital employed in the business has stayed roughly the flat over the period. Companies that exhibit these attributes tend to not be shrinking, but they can be mature and facing pressure on their margins from competition. So because these trends aren't typically conducive to creating a multi-bagger, we wouldn't hold our breath on Pacific Radiance becoming one if things continue as they have.

In Conclusion...

In summary, it's unfortunate that Pacific Radiance is generating lower returns from the same amount of capital. Since the stock has skyrocketed 104% over the last year, it looks like investors have high expectations of the stock. Regardless, we don't feel too comfortable with the fundamentals so we'd be steering clear of this stock for now.

One final note, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Pacific Radiance (including 2 which are a bit concerning) .

While Pacific Radiance isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.