Taisei's (TSE:1801) Solid Profits Have Weak Fundamentals

Unsurprisingly, Taisei Corporation's (TSE:1801) stock price was strong on the back of its healthy earnings report. However, we think that shareholders may be missing some concerning details in the numbers.

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How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

For anyone who wants to understand Taisei's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from JP¥40b worth of unusual items. While it's always nice to have higher profit, a large contribution from unusual items sometimes dampens our enthusiasm. 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. If Taisei 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 Taisei's Profit Performance

Arguably, Taisei's statutory earnings have been distorted by unusual items boosting profit. Therefore, it seems possible to us that Taisei's true underlying earnings power is actually less than its statutory profit. But the good news is that its EPS growth over the last three years has been very impressive. 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. If you'd like to know more about Taisei as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Taisei you should know about.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Taisei'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 with high insider ownership.

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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.