Zhejiang Founder Motor Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002196) announced strong profits, but the stock was stagnant. We did some digging, and we found some concerning factors in the details.

The Impact Of Unusual Items On Profit

Importantly, our data indicates that Zhejiang Founder Motor's profit received a boost of CN¥84m 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. And, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. We can see that Zhejiang Founder Motor's positive unusual items were quite significant relative to its profit in the year to September 2024. As a result, we can surmise that the unusual items are making its statutory profit significantly stronger than it would otherwise be.

Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of Zhejiang Founder Motor.

Our Take On Zhejiang Founder Motor's Profit Performance

As previously mentioned, Zhejiang Founder Motor's large boost from unusual items won't be there indefinitely, so its statutory earnings are probably a poor guide to its underlying profitability. As a result, we think it may well be the case that Zhejiang Founder Motor's underlying earnings power is lower than its statutory profit. On the bright side, the company showed enough improvement to book a profit this year, after losing money 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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Zhejiang Founder Motor.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Zhejiang Founder Motor'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 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.