There May Be Underlying Issues With The Quality Of Airrane's (KOSDAQ:163280) Earnings

Airrane Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:163280) just reported some strong earnings, and the market reacted accordingly with a healthy uplift in the share price. However, our analysis suggests that shareholders may be missing some factors that indicate the earnings result was not as good as it looked.

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A Closer Look At Airrane'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). The accrual ratio subtracts the FCF from the profit for a given period, and divides the result by the average operating assets of the company over that time. You could think of the accrual ratio from cashflow as the 'non-FCF profit ratio'.

That means a negative accrual ratio is a good thing, because it shows that the company is bringing in more free cash flow than its profit would suggest. 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. To quote a 2014 paper by Lewellen and Resutek, "firms with higher accruals tend to be less profitable in the future".

Over the twelve months to March 2025, Airrane recorded an accrual ratio of 0.30. We can therefore deduce that its free cash flow fell well short of covering its statutory profit, suggesting we might want to think twice before putting a lot of weight on the latter. In the last twelve months it actually had negative free cash flow, with an outflow of ₩6.9b despite its profit of ₩2.50b, mentioned above. Coming off the back of negative free cash flow last year, we imagine some shareholders might wonder if its cash burn of ₩6.9b, this year, indicates high risk.

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

Our Take On Airrane's Profit Performance

Airrane's accrual ratio for the last twelve months signifies cash conversion is less than ideal, which is a negative when it comes to our view of its earnings. Therefore, it seems possible to us that Airrane's true underlying earnings power is actually less than its statutory profit. On the bright side, the company showed enough improvement to book a profit this year, after losing money last year. 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. So while earnings quality is important, it's equally important to consider the risks facing Airrane at this point in time. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Airrane you should know about.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Airrane's profit. 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. 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.