Does Green Landscaping Group's (STO:GREEN) Statutory Profit Adequately Reflect Its Underlying Profit?

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. This article will consider whether Green Landscaping Group's (STO:GREEN) statutory profits are a good guide to its underlying earnings.

It's good to see that over the last twelve months Green Landscaping Group made a profit of kr20.1m on revenue of kr1.96b.

View our latest analysis for Green Landscaping Group

Of course, it is only sensible to look beyond the statutory profits and question how well those numbers represent the sustainable earnings power of the business. Therefore, today we will consider the nature of Green Landscaping Group's statutory earnings with reference to its dilution of shareholders and the impact of unusual items. 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.

One essential aspect of assessing earnings quality is to look at how much a company is diluting shareholders. Green Landscaping Group expanded the number of shares on issue by 33% over the last year. As a result, its net income is now split between a greater number of shares. Per share metrics like EPS help us understand how much actual shareholders are benefitting from the company's profits, while the net income level gives us a better view of the company's absolute size. You can see a chart of Green Landscaping Group's EPS by clicking here.

A Look At The Impact Of Green Landscaping Group's Dilution on Its Earnings Per Share (EPS).

Unfortunately, we don't have any visibility into its profits three years back, because we lack the data. And even focusing only on the last twelve months, we don't have a meaningful growth rate because it made a loss a year ago, too. But mathematics aside, it is always good to see when a formerly unprofitable business come good (though we accept profit would have been higher if dilution had not been required). And so, you can see quite clearly that dilution is having a rather significant impact on shareholders.

If Green Landscaping Group's EPS can grow over time then that drastically improves the chances of the share price moving in the same direction. However, if its profit increases while its earnings per share stay flat (or even fall) then shareholders might not see much benefit. For the ordinary retail shareholder, EPS is a great measure to check your hypothetical "share" of the company's profit.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

On top of the dilution, we should also consider the kr33m impact of unusual items in the last year, which had the effect of suppressing profit. 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. In the twelve months to September 2020, Green Landscaping Group had a big unusual items expense. All else being equal, this would likely have the effect of making the statutory profit look worse than its underlying earnings power.

Our Take On Green Landscaping Group's Profit Performance

To sum it all up, Green Landscaping Group took a hit from unusual items which pushed its profit down; without that, it would have made more money. But unfortunately the dilution means that shareholders now own a smaller proportion of the company (assuming they maintained the same number of shares). That will weigh on earnings per share, even if it is not reflected in net income. Based on these factors, it's hard to tell if Green Landscaping Group's profits are a reasonable reflection of its underlying profitability. If you'd like to know more about Green Landscaping Group as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Green Landscaping Group (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

Our examination of Green Landscaping Group has focussed on certain factors that can make its earnings look better than they are. 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. 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. 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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