Unsurprisingly, CITIC Offshore Helicopter Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:000099) stock price was strong on the back of its healthy earnings report. We did some analysis and think that investors are missing some details hidden beneath the profit numbers.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

Importantly, our data indicates that CITIC Offshore Helicopter's profit received a boost of CN¥39m in unusual items, over the last year. While it's always nice to have higher profit, a large contribution from unusual items sometimes dampens our enthusiasm. When we analysed the vast majority of listed companies worldwide, we found that significant unusual items are often not repeated. 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 CITIC Offshore Helicopter's Profit Performance

We'd posit that CITIC Offshore Helicopter's statutory earnings aren't a clean read on ongoing productivity, due to the large unusual item. Therefore, it seems possible to us that CITIC Offshore Helicopter's true underlying earnings power is actually less than its statutory profit. But at least holders can take some solace from the 33% EPS growth in the last year. The goal of this article has been to assess how well we can rely on the statutory earnings to reflect the company's potential, but there is plenty more to consider. If you want to do dive deeper into CITIC Offshore Helicopter, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for CITIC Offshore Helicopter and we think they deserve your attention.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of CITIC Offshore Helicopter'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.