Brave Bison Group's (LON:BBSN) Earnings Are Of Questionable Quality

Despite announcing strong earnings, Brave Bison Group plc's (LON:BBSN) stock was sluggish. We did some digging and found some worrying underlying problems.

Check out our latest analysis for Brave Bison Group

An Unusual Tax Situation

Brave Bison Group reported a tax benefit of UK£624k, which is well worth noting. This is of course a bit out of the ordinary, given it is more common for companies to be paying tax than receiving tax benefits! The receipt of a tax benefit is obviously a good thing, on its own. However, our data indicates that tax benefits can temporarily boost statutory profit in the year it is booked, but subsequently profit may fall back. Assuming the tax benefit is not repeated every year, we could see its profitability drop noticeably, all else being equal. While we think it's good that the company has booked a tax benefit, it does mean that there's every chance the statutory profit will come in a lot higher than it would be if the income was adjusted for one-off factors.

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 Brave Bison Group's Profit Performance

As we have already discussed Brave Bison Group reported that it received a tax benefit, rather than paying tax, in the last year. Given that sort of benefit is not recurring, a focus on the statutory profit might make the company seem better than it really is. Because of this, we think that it may be that Brave Bison Group's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. The silver lining is that its EPS growth over the last year has been really wonderful, even if it's not a perfect measure. 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. If you'd like to know more about Brave Bison Group as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that Brave Bison Group has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Brave Bison Group'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.