Harvest Technology (MTSE:HRV) Is Growing Earnings But Are They A Good Guide?

As a general rule, we think profitable companies are less risky than companies that lose money. Having said that, sometimes statutory profit levels are not a good guide to ongoing profitability, because some short term one-off factor has impacted profit levels. In this article, we'll look at how useful this year's statutory profit is, when analysing Harvest Technology (MTSE:HRV).

We like the fact that Harvest Technology made a profit of €2.33m on its revenue of €17.5m, in the last year. One positive is that it has grown both its profit and its revenue, over the last few years.

See our latest analysis for Harvest Technology

Importantly, statutory profits are not always the best tool for understanding a company's true earnings power, so it's well worth examining profits in a little more detail. Today, we'll discuss Harvest Technology's free cashflow relative to its earnings, and consider what that tells us about the company. Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of Harvest Technology.

Examining Cashflow Against Harvest 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. The ratio shows us how much a company's profit exceeds its FCF.

As a result, a negative accrual ratio is a positive for the company, and a positive accrual ratio is a negative. 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. That's because some academic studies have suggested that high accruals ratios tend to lead to lower profit or less profit growth.

Over the twelve months to June 2020, Harvest Technology recorded an accrual ratio of -0.11. That implies it has good cash conversion, and implies that its free cash flow solidly exceeded its profit last year. To wit, it produced free cash flow of €3.6m during the period, dwarfing its reported profit of €2.33m. Harvest Technology shareholders are no doubt pleased that free cash flow improved over the last twelve months.

Our Take On Harvest Technology's Profit Performance

As we discussed above, Harvest Technology has perfectly satisfactory free cash flow relative to profit. Based on this observation, we consider it likely that Harvest Technology's statutory profit actually understates its earnings potential! And on top of that, its earnings per share have grown at an extremely impressive rate over the last three years. 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. 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. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Harvest Technology, and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Harvest Technology's profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. 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. 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. 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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