Impressive Earnings May Not Tell The Whole Story For Facilities by ADF (LON:ADF)

Facilities by ADF plc's (LON:ADF) robust earnings report didn't manage to move the market for its stock. Our analysis suggests that this might be because shareholders have noticed some concerning underlying factors.

See our latest analysis for Facilities by ADF

Zooming In On Facilities by ADF'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). To get the accrual ratio we first subtract FCF from profit for a period, and then divide that number by the average operating assets for the period. This ratio tells us how much of a company's profit is not backed by free cashflow.

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.

Facilities by ADF has an accrual ratio of 0.22 for the year to June 2023. We can therefore deduce that its free cash flow fell well short of covering its statutory profit. Indeed, in the last twelve months it reported free cash flow of UK£3.3m, which is significantly less than its profit of UK£6.02m. At this point we should mention that Facilities by ADF did manage to increase its free cash flow in the last twelve months Unfortunately for shareholders, the company has also been issuing new shares, diluting their share of future earnings. One positive for Facilities by ADF shareholders is that it's accrual ratio was significantly better last year, providing reason to believe that it may return to stronger cash conversion in the future. As a result, some shareholders may be looking for stronger cash conversion in the current year.

Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of Facilities by ADF.

One essential aspect of assessing earnings quality is to look at how much a company is diluting shareholders. As it happens, Facilities by ADF issued 6.5% more new shares over the last year. Therefore, each share now receives a smaller portion of profit. To talk about net income, without noticing earnings per share, is to be distracted by the big numbers while ignoring the smaller numbers that talk to per share value. You can see a chart of Facilities by ADF's EPS by clicking here.

How Is Dilution Impacting Facilities by ADF's Earnings Per Share (EPS)?

As you can see above, Facilities by ADF has been growing its net income over the last few years, with an annualized gain of 819% over three years. In comparison, earnings per share only gained over the same period. And the 2,574% profit boost in the last year certainly seems impressive at first glance. But in comparison, EPS only increased by 1,879% over the same period. And so, you can see quite clearly that dilution is influencing shareholder earnings.

Changes in the share price do tend to reflect changes in earnings per share, in the long run. So it will certainly be a positive for shareholders if Facilities by ADF can grow EPS persistently. However, if its profit increases while its earnings per share stay flat (or even fall) then shareholders might not see much benefit. For the ordinary retail shareholder, EPS is a great measure to check your hypothetical "share" of the company's profit.

Our Take On Facilities by ADF's Profit Performance

In conclusion, Facilities by ADF has weak cashflow relative to earnings, which indicates lower quality earnings, and the dilution means its earnings per share growth is weaker than its profit growth. Considering all this we'd argue Facilities by ADF's profits probably give an overly generous impression of its sustainable level of profitability. So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Facilities by ADF you should be mindful of and 1 of these is significant.

In this article we've looked at a number of factors that can impair the utility of profit numbers, and we've come away cautious. 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.