Are Vitru's (NASDAQ:VTRU) Statutory Earnings A Good Reflection Of Its Earnings Potential?

It might be old fashioned, but we really like to invest in companies that make a profit, each and every year. 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 Vitru (NASDAQ:VTRU).

We like the fact that Vitru made a profit of R$9.06m on its revenue of R$500.0m, in the last year.

View our latest analysis for Vitru

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. As a reuslt, we think it's important to consider how unusual items and the recent tax benefit have influenced Vitru's statutory profit. 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.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

Importantly, our data indicates that Vitru's profit was reduced by R$101m, due to unusual items, over the last year. 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, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. Vitru took a rather significant hit from unusual items in the year to September 2020. As a result, we can surmise that the unusual items made its statutory profit significantly weaker than it would otherwise be.

An Unusual Tax Situation

Just as we noted the unusual items, we must inform you that Vitru received a tax benefit which contributed R$17m to the bottom line. It's always a bit noteworthy when a company is paid by the tax man, rather than paying the tax man. Of course, prima facie it's great to receive a tax benefit. And given that it lost money last year, it seems possible that the benefit is evidence that it now expects to find value in its past tax losses. However, the devil in the detail is that these kind of benefits only impact in the year they are booked, and are often one-off in nature. In the likely event the tax benefit is not repeated, we'd expect to see its statutory profit levels drop, at least in the absence of strong growth.

Our Take On Vitru's Profit Performance

In its last report Vitru received a tax benefit which might make its profit look better than it really is on a underlying level. But on the other hand, it also saw an unusual item depress its profit. Based on these factors, we think that Vitru's profits are a reasonably conservative guide to its underlying profitability. With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Vitru, and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

In this article we've looked at a number of factors that can impair the utility of profit numbers, as a guide to a business. 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. 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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