We Like Kenda Rubber Industrial's (TWSE:2106) Earnings For More Than Just Statutory Profit

Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd.'s (TWSE:2106) recent earnings report didn't offer any surprises, with the shares unchanged over the last week. We did some analysis to find out why and believe that investors might be missing some encouraging factors contained in the earnings.

View our latest analysis for Kenda Rubber Industrial

Examining Cashflow Against Kenda Rubber Industrial's Earnings

One key financial ratio used to measure how well a company converts its profit to free cash flow (FCF) is the accrual ratio. 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. That is not intended to imply we should worry about a positive accrual ratio, but it's worth noting where the accrual ratio is rather high. To quote a 2014 paper by Lewellen and Resutek, "firms with higher accruals tend to be less profitable in the future".

Kenda Rubber Industrial has an accrual ratio of -0.13 for the year to December 2023. That indicates that its free cash flow was a fair bit more than its statutory profit. To wit, it produced free cash flow of NT$4.7b during the period, dwarfing its reported profit of NT$881.0m. Given that Kenda Rubber Industrial had negative free cash flow in the prior corresponding period, the trailing twelve month resul of NT$4.7b would seem to be a step in the right direction.

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 Kenda Rubber Industrial's Profit Performance

Kenda Rubber Industrial's accrual ratio is solid, and indicates strong free cash flow, as we discussed, above. Because of this, we think Kenda Rubber Industrial's earnings potential is at least as good as it seems, and maybe even better! And on top of that, its earnings per share have grown at an extremely impressive rate over the last year. 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. 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. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Kenda Rubber Industrial.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Kenda Rubber Industrial'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. 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.