SRV Yhtiöt Oyj's (HEL:SRV1V) Promising Earnings May Rest On Soft Foundations

Despite announcing strong earnings, SRV Yhtiöt Oyj's (HEL:SRV1V) stock was sluggish. We did some digging and found some worrying underlying problems.

See our latest analysis for SRV Yhtiöt Oyj

The Impact Of Unusual Items On Profit

Importantly, our data indicates that SRV Yhtiöt Oyj's profit received a boost of €1.8m in unusual items, over the last year. We can't deny that higher profits generally leave us optimistic, but we'd prefer it if the profit were to be sustainable. When we crunched the numbers on thousands of publicly listed companies, we found that a boost from unusual items in a given year is often not repeated the next year. And, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. We can see that SRV Yhtiöt Oyj's positive unusual items were quite significant relative to its profit in the year to December 2024. As a result, we can surmise that the unusual items are making its statutory profit significantly stronger than it would otherwise be.

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 SRV Yhtiöt Oyj's Profit Performance

As previously mentioned, SRV Yhtiöt Oyj's large boost from unusual items won't be there indefinitely, so its statutory earnings are probably a poor guide to its underlying profitability. For this reason, we think that SRV Yhtiöt Oyj's statutory profits may be a bad guide to its underlying earnings power, and might give investors an overly positive impression of the company. On the bright side, the company showed enough improvement to book a profit this year, after losing money last year. Of course, we've only just scratched the surface when it comes to analysing its earnings; one could also consider margins, forecast growth, and return on investment, among other factors. In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for SRV Yhtiöt Oyj and you'll want to know about them.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of SRV Yhtiöt Oyj's profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to 'follow the money' and search out stocks that insiders are buying. 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 with significant insider holdings 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.