Shanghai Dragon's (SHSE:600630) Earnings Seem To Be Promising

Shanghai Dragon Corporation (SHSE:600630) announced a healthy earnings result recently, and the market rewarded it with a strong uplift in the stock price. According to our analysis of the report, the strong headline profit numbers are supported by strong earnings fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for Shanghai Dragon

Zooming In On Shanghai Dragon's Earnings

In high finance, the key ratio used to measure how well a company converts reported profits into free cash flow (FCF) is the accrual ratio (from cashflow). The accrual ratio subtracts the FCF from the profit for a given period, and divides the result by the average operating assets of the company over that time. You could think of the accrual ratio from cashflow as the 'non-FCF profit ratio'.

As a result, a negative accrual ratio is a positive for the company, and a positive accrual ratio is a negative. While it's not a problem to have a positive accrual ratio, indicating a certain level of non-cash profits, a high accrual ratio is arguably a bad thing, because it indicates paper profits are not matched by cash flow. That's because some academic studies have suggested that high accruals ratios tend to lead to lower profit or less profit growth.

For the year to March 2024, Shanghai Dragon had an accrual ratio of -0.16. That indicates that its free cash flow quite significantly exceeded its statutory profit. In fact, it had free cash flow of CN¥141m in the last year, which was a lot more than its statutory profit of CN¥22.1m. Shanghai Dragon did see its free cash flow drop year on year, which is less than ideal, like a Simpson's episode without Groundskeeper Willie.

Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of Shanghai Dragon.

Our Take On Shanghai Dragon's Profit Performance

As we discussed above, Shanghai Dragon's accrual ratio indicates strong conversion of profit to free cash flow, which is a positive for the company. Because of this, we think Shanghai Dragon's underlying earnings potential is as good as, or possibly even better, than the statutory profit makes it seem! And one can definitely find a positive in the fact that it made a profit this year, despite losing money last year. At the end of the day, it's essential to consider more than just the factors above, if you want to understand the company properly. Just as investors must consider earnings, it is also important to take into account the strength of a company's balance sheet. You can see our latest analysis on Shanghai Dragon's balance sheet health here.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Shanghai Dragon's profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying to be useful.

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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.