We Think Hankook Tire & Technology's (KRX:161390) Healthy Earnings Might Be Conservative

Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd. (KRX:161390) announced a healthy earnings result recently, and the market rewarded it with a strong uplift in the stock price. This reaction by the market reaction is understandable when looking at headline profits and we have found some further encouraging factors.

View our latest analysis for Hankook Tire & Technology

Zooming In On Hankook Tire & Technology'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.

Therefore, it's actually considered a good thing when a company has a negative accrual ratio, but a bad thing if its accrual ratio is positive. While having an accrual ratio above zero is of little concern, we do think it's worth noting when a company has a relatively high accrual ratio. Notably, there is some academic evidence that suggests that a high accrual ratio is a bad sign for near-term profits, generally speaking.

Over the twelve months to December 2023, Hankook Tire & Technology recorded an accrual ratio of -0.10. That indicates that its free cash flow was a fair bit more than its statutory profit. To wit, it produced free cash flow of ₩1.5t during the period, dwarfing its reported profit of ₩720.2b. Hankook Tire & Technology shareholders are no doubt pleased that free cash flow improved over the last twelve months.

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 Hankook Tire & Technology's Profit Performance

Hankook Tire & Technology's accrual ratio is solid, and indicates strong free cash flow, as we discussed, above. Because of this, we think Hankook Tire & Technology's earnings potential is at least as good as it seems, and maybe even better! Better yet, its EPS are growing strongly, which is nice to see. 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. So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Hankook Tire & Technology and you'll want to know about this.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Hankook Tire & Technology'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.