Solid Earnings May Not Tell The Whole Story For China Energy Engineering (HKG:3996)

China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited's (HKG:3996) healthy profit numbers didn't contain any surprises for investors. However the statutory profit number doesn't tell the whole story, and we have found some factors which might be of concern to shareholders.

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The Impact Of Unusual Items On Profit

Importantly, our data indicates that China Energy Engineering's profit received a boost of CN¥1.6b in unusual items, over the last year. While it's always nice to have higher profit, a large contribution from unusual items sometimes dampens our enthusiasm. When we analysed the vast majority of listed companies worldwide, we found that significant unusual items are often not repeated. And, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. If China Energy Engineering doesn't see that contribution repeat, then all else being equal we'd expect its profit to drop over the current year.

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 China Energy Engineering's Profit Performance

We'd posit that China Energy Engineering's statutory earnings aren't a clean read on ongoing productivity, due to the large unusual item. Therefore, it seems possible to us that China Energy Engineering's true underlying earnings power is actually less than its statutory profit. But at least holders can take some solace from the 5.6% EPS growth 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. If you want to do dive deeper into China Energy Engineering, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that China Energy Engineering has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of China Energy Engineering's profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. 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.