Zhejiang Dongri Limited Company (SHSE:600113) just released a solid earnings report, and the stock displayed some strength. Despite this, our analysis suggests that there are some factors weakening the foundations of those good profit numbers.

The Impact Of Unusual Items On Profit

For anyone who wants to understand Zhejiang Dongri Limited's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from CN¥23m worth of unusual items. We can't deny that higher profits generally leave us optimistic, but we'd prefer it if the profit were to be sustainable. 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. And that's as you'd expect, given these boosts are described as 'unusual'. 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).

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

Our Take On Zhejiang Dongri Limited's Profit Performance

We'd posit that Zhejiang Dongri Limited'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 Dongri Limited's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. But on the bright side, its earnings per share have grown at an extremely impressive rate over the last three years. Of course, we've only just scratched the surface when it comes to analysing its earnings; one could also consider margins, forecast growth, and return on investment, among other factors. Keep in mind, when it comes to analysing a stock it's worth noting the risks involved. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Zhejiang Dongri Limited and you'll want to know about these bad boys.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Zhejiang Dongri Limited's profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. 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.