The recent earnings posted by Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. (SZSE:003013) were solid, but the stock didn't move as much as we expected. We believe that shareholders have noticed some concerning factors beyond the statutory profit numbers.

Zooming In On Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute's Earnings

As finance nerds would already know, the accrual ratio from cashflow is a key measure for assessing how well a company's free cash flow (FCF) matches its profit. In plain english, this ratio subtracts FCF from net profit, and divides that number by the company's average operating assets over that period. The ratio shows us how much a company's profit exceeds its FCF.

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. That's because some academic studies have suggested that high accruals ratios tend to lead to lower profit or less profit growth.

Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute has an accrual ratio of 0.48 for the year to December 2023. As a general rule, that bodes poorly for future profitability. To wit, the company did not generate one whit of free cashflow in that time. Over the last year it actually had negative free cash flow of CN¥106m, in contrast to the aforementioned profit of CN¥431.9m. We saw that FCF was CN¥187m a year ago though, so Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute 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 Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute's Profit Performance

As we have made quite clear, we're a bit worried that Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute didn't back up the last year's profit with free cashflow. For this reason, we think that Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute's statutory profits may be a bad guide to its underlying earnings power, and might give investors an overly positive impression of the company. Nonetheless, it's still worth noting that its earnings per share have grown at 38% 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. So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute (1 shouldn't be ignored) you should be familiar with.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute'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.