The subdued market reaction suggests that Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:2238) recent earnings didn't contain any surprises. Our analysis suggests that along with soft profit numbers, investors should be aware of some other underlying weaknesses in the numbers.

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The Impact Of Unusual Items On Profit

Importantly, our data indicates that Guangzhou Automobile Group's profit received a boost of CN¥674m in unusual items, over the last year. While we like to see profit increases, we tend to be a little more cautious when unusual items have made a big contribution. 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. 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 Guangzhou Automobile Group's Profit Performance

We'd posit that Guangzhou Automobile Group'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 Guangzhou Automobile Group's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. In further bad news, its earnings per share decreased in the last year. 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. In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Guangzhou Automobile Group and you'll want to know about them.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Guangzhou Automobile Group'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. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with significant insider holdings to be useful.

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