Last week's earnings announcement from Unity Enterprise Holdings Limited (HKG:2195) was disappointing to investors, with a sluggish profit figure. Our analysis has found some reasons to be concerned, beyond the weak headline numbers.

Check out our latest analysis for Unity Enterprise Holdings

A Closer Look At Unity Enterprise Holdings' Earnings

In high finance, the key ratio used to measure how well a company converts reported profits into free cash flow (FCF) is the accrual ratio (from cashflow). The accrual ratio subtracts the FCF from the profit for a given period, and divides the result by the average operating assets of the company over that time. This ratio tells us how much of a company's profit is not backed by free cashflow.

Therefore, it's actually considered a good thing when a company has a negative accrual ratio, but a bad thing if its accrual ratio is positive. While having an accrual ratio above zero is of little concern, we do think it's worth noting when a company has a relatively high accrual ratio. To quote a 2014 paper by Lewellen and Resutek, "firms with higher accruals tend to be less profitable in the future".

Over the twelve months to December 2021, Unity Enterprise Holdings recorded an accrual ratio of 0.97. As a general rule, that bodes poorly for future profitability. And indeed, during the period the company didn't produce any free cash flow whatsoever. In the last twelve months it actually had negative free cash flow, with an outflow of HK$42m despite its profit of HK$26.3m, mentioned above. We saw that FCF was HK$22m a year ago though, so Unity Enterprise Holdings has at least been able to generate positive FCF in the past.

Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of Unity Enterprise Holdings.

Our Take On Unity Enterprise Holdings' Profit Performance

As we discussed above, we think Unity Enterprise Holdings' earnings were not supported by free cash flow, which might concern some investors. For this reason, we think that Unity Enterprise Holdings' statutory profits may be a bad guide to its underlying earnings power, and might give investors an overly positive impression of the company. Sadly, its EPS was down over the last twelve months. 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. 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. For example, we've found that Unity Enterprise Holdings has 4 warning signs (1 is potentially serious!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Unity Enterprise Holdings' 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 that insiders are buying to be useful.

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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.