Weak Statutory Earnings May Not Tell The Whole Story For Beijing Jiaman DressLtd (SZSE:301276)

Despite Beijing Jiaman Dress Co.,Ltd.'s (SZSE:301276) recent earnings report having lackluster headline numbers, the market responded positively. While shareholders may be willing to overlook soft profit numbers, we believe that they should also be taking into account some other factors which may be cause for concern.

Check out our latest analysis for Beijing Jiaman DressLtd

Examining Cashflow Against Beijing Jiaman DressLtd's Earnings

Many investors haven't heard of the accrual ratio from cashflow, but it is actually a useful measure of how well a company's profit is backed up by free cash flow (FCF) during a given period. In plain english, this ratio subtracts FCF from net profit, and divides that number by the company's average operating assets over that period. 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 having an accrual ratio above zero is of little concern, we do think it's worth noting when a company has a relatively high accrual ratio. Notably, there is some academic evidence that suggests that a high accrual ratio is a bad sign for near-term profits, generally speaking.

Beijing Jiaman DressLtd has an accrual ratio of 0.81 for the year to March 2024. As a general rule, that bodes poorly for future profitability. And indeed, during the period the company didn't produce any free cash flow whatsoever. In the last twelve months it actually had negative free cash flow, with an outflow of CN¥314m despite its profit of CN¥168.6m, mentioned above. It's worth noting that Beijing Jiaman DressLtd generated positive FCF of CN¥95m a year ago, so at least they've done it in the past.

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

Our Take On Beijing Jiaman DressLtd's Profit Performance

As we have made quite clear, we're a bit worried that Beijing Jiaman DressLtd didn't back up the last year's profit with free cashflow. As a result, we think it may well be the case that Beijing Jiaman DressLtd's underlying earnings power is lower than its statutory profit. In further bad news, its earnings per share decreased in the last year. The goal of this article has been to assess how well we can rely on the statutory earnings to reflect the company's potential, but there is plenty more to consider. So while earnings quality is important, it's equally important to consider the risks facing Beijing Jiaman DressLtd at this point in time. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Beijing Jiaman DressLtd (including 1 which is a bit concerning).

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Beijing Jiaman DressLtd's profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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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.