Should You Use GO's (MTSE:GO) Statutory Earnings To Analyse It?

Many investors consider it preferable to invest in profitable companies over unprofitable ones, because profitability suggests a business is sustainable. 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 GO (MTSE:GO).

We like the fact that GO made a profit of €10.3m on its revenue of €184.4m, in the last year. As you can see in the chart below, its profit has declined over the last three years, even though its revenue has increased.

View our latest analysis for GO

Of course, when it comes to statutory profit, the devil is often in the detail, and we can get a better sense for a company by diving deeper into the financial statements. This article will discuss how unusual items have impacted GO's most recent profit results. Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of GO.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

For anyone who wants to understand GO's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit was reduced by €3.3m due to unusual items. It's never great to see unusual items costing the company profits, but on the upside, things might improve sooner rather than later. We looked at thousands of listed companies and found that unusual items are very often one-off in nature. And that's hardly a surprise given these line items are considered unusual. If GO doesn't see those unusual expenses repeat, then all else being equal we'd expect its profit to increase over the coming year.

Our Take On GO's Profit Performance

Unusual items (expenses) detracted from GO's earnings over the last year, but we might see an improvement next year. Based on this observation, we consider it likely that GO's statutory profit actually understates its earnings potential! On the other hand, its EPS actually shrunk in the last twelve months. 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. If you want to do dive deeper into GO, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. To help with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs (1 is a bit concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in GO.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of GO'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 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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