The subdued market reaction suggests that Zhejiang Dafeng Industry Co., Ltd's (SHSE:603081) recent earnings didn't contain any surprises. We think that investors are worried about some weaknesses underlying the earnings.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

To properly understand Zhejiang Dafeng Industry's profit results, we need to consider the CN¥16m gain attributed to unusual items. While it's always nice to have higher profit, a large contribution from unusual items sometimes dampens our enthusiasm. When we crunched the numbers on thousands of publicly listed companies, we found that a boost from unusual items in a given year is often not repeated the next year. Which is hardly surprising, given the name. Assuming those unusual items don't show up again in the current year, we'd thus expect profit to be weaker next year (in the absence of business growth, that is).

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 Zhejiang Dafeng Industry's Profit Performance

We'd posit that Zhejiang Dafeng Industry's statutory earnings aren't a clean read on ongoing productivity, due to the large unusual item. Because of this, we think that it may be that Zhejiang Dafeng Industry's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. In further bad news, its earnings per share decreased in 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. So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Zhejiang Dafeng Industry (1 is concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Zhejiang Dafeng Industry'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. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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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.