Robust Earnings May Not Tell The Whole Story For Metro Healthcare Berhad (KLSE:MHCARE)

Metro Healthcare Berhad's (KLSE:MHCARE) robust earnings report didn't manage to move the market for its stock. We did some digging, and we found some concerning factors in the details.

Check out our latest analysis for Metro Healthcare Berhad

The Impact Of Unusual Items On Profit

For anyone who wants to understand Metro Healthcare Berhad's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from RM1.9m 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 analysed the vast majority of listed companies worldwide, we found that significant unusual items are often not repeated. And that's as you'd expect, given these boosts are described as 'unusual'. If Metro Healthcare Berhad doesn't see that contribution repeat, then all else being equal we'd expect its profit to drop over the current year.

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

Our Take On Metro Healthcare Berhad's Profit Performance

Arguably, Metro Healthcare Berhad's statutory earnings have been distorted by unusual items boosting profit. Because of this, we think that it may be that Metro Healthcare Berhad's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. But on the bright side, its earnings per share have grown at an extremely impressive rate over the last three years. 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. With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Metro Healthcare Berhad and we think they deserve your attention.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Metro Healthcare Berhad'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.
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