Does China New Higher Education Group's (HKG:2001) Statutory Profit Adequately Reflect Its Underlying Profit?

As a general rule, we think profitable companies are less risky than companies that lose money. That said, the current statutory profit is not always a good guide to a company's underlying profitability. Today we'll focus on whether this year's statutory profits are a good guide to understanding China New Higher Education Group (HKG:2001).

We like the fact that China New Higher Education Group made a profit of CN¥262.4m on its revenue of CN¥1.08b, in the last year. Happily, it has grown both its profit and revenue over the last three years (though we note its profit is down over the last year).

Check out our latest analysis for China New Higher Education Group

Not all profits are equal, and we can learn more about the nature of a company's past profitability by diving deeper into the financial statements. This article will focus on the impact unusual items have had on China New Higher Education Group's statutory earnings. 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.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

For anyone who wants to understand China New Higher Education Group's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from CN¥30m worth of unusual items. 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. Which is hardly surprising, given the name. Assuming those unusual items don't show up again in the current year, we'd thus expect profit to be weaker next year (in the absence of business growth, that is).

Our Take On China New Higher Education Group's Profit Performance

Arguably, China New Higher Education Group's statutory earnings have been distorted by unusual items boosting profit. Therefore, it seems possible to us that China New Higher Education Group's true underlying earnings power is actually less than its statutory profit. But at least holders can take some solace from the 24% per annum growth in EPS for the last three. 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. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for China New Higher Education Group (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of China New Higher Education Group'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 that insiders are buying to be useful.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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