A lackluster earnings announcement from National Electronics Holdings Limited (HKG:213) last week didn't sink the stock price. We think that investors are worried about some weaknesses underlying the earnings.

See our latest analysis for National Electronics Holdings

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

For anyone who wants to understand National Electronics Holdings' profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from HK$253m 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. We ran the numbers on most publicly listed companies worldwide, and it's very common for unusual items to be once-off in nature. And that's as you'd expect, given these boosts are described as 'unusual'. We can see that National Electronics Holdings' 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 National Electronics Holdings.

Our Take On National Electronics Holdings' Profit Performance

As previously mentioned, National Electronics Holdings' large boost from unusual items won't be there indefinitely, so its statutory earnings are probably a poor guide to its underlying profitability. For this reason, we think that National Electronics Holdings' statutory profits may be a bad guide to its underlying earnings power, and might give investors an overly positive impression of the company. 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. If you'd like to know more about National Electronics Holdings as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with National Electronics Holdings (including 2 which are a bit concerning).

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of National Electronics Holdings' 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 with high insider ownership.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.