Unsurprisingly, China Bester Group Telecom Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:603220) stock price was strong on the back of its healthy earnings report. We did some analysis and think that investors are missing some details hidden beneath the profit numbers.

Examining Cashflow Against China Bester Group Telecom's 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). In plain english, this ratio subtracts FCF from net profit, and divides that number by the company's average operating assets over that period. The ratio shows us how much a company's profit exceeds its FCF.

As a result, a negative accrual ratio is a positive for the company, and a positive accrual ratio is a negative. That is not intended to imply we should worry about a positive accrual ratio, but it's worth noting where the accrual ratio is rather high. Notably, there is some academic evidence that suggests that a high accrual ratio is a bad sign for near-term profits, generally speaking.

China Bester Group Telecom has an accrual ratio of 0.41 for the year to December 2023. As a general rule, that bodes poorly for future profitability. To wit, the company did not generate one whit of free cashflow in that time. Even though it reported a profit of CN¥143.8m, a look at free cash flow indicates it actually burnt through CN¥715m in the last year. Coming off the back of negative free cash flow last year, we imagine some shareholders might wonder if its cash burn of CN¥715m, this year, indicates high risk.

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 China Bester Group Telecom's Profit Performance

As we have made quite clear, we're a bit worried that China Bester Group Telecom didn't back up the last year's profit with free cashflow. As a result, we think it may well be the case that China Bester Group Telecom's underlying earnings power is lower than its statutory profit. But the good news is that its EPS growth over the last three years has been very impressive. 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. Be aware that China Bester Group Telecom is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis and 1 of those is potentially serious...

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of China Bester Group Telecom's profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. 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.