We Think That There Are Issues Underlying Systemair's (STO:SYSR) Earnings

Systemair AB (publ) (STO:SYSR) announced strong profits, but the stock was stagnant. We did some digging, and we found some concerning factors in the details.

View our latest analysis for Systemair

Examining Cashflow Against Systemair's Earnings

Many investors haven't heard of the accrual ratio from cashflow, but it is actually a useful measure of how well a company's profit is backed up by free cash flow (FCF) during a given period. 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. You could think of the accrual ratio from cashflow as the 'non-FCF profit ratio'.

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. To quote a 2014 paper by Lewellen and Resutek, "firms with higher accruals tend to be less profitable in the future".

For the year to July 2022, Systemair had an accrual ratio of 0.22. Unfortunately, that means its free cash flow fell significantly short of its reported profits. Over the last year it actually had negative free cash flow of kr635m, in contrast to the aforementioned profit of kr605.2m. We saw that FCF was kr463m a year ago though, so Systemair has at least been able to generate positive FCF in the past.

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 Systemair's Profit Performance

Systemair didn't convert much of its profit to free cash flow in the last year, which some investors may consider rather suboptimal. Because of this, we think that it may be that Systemair's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. But at least holders can take some solace from the 60% per annum growth in EPS for the last three. 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 Systemair, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for Systemair (2 shouldn't be ignored!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Systemair's profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. 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. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying to be useful.

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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.