Despite announcing strong earnings, International Entertainment Corporation's (HKG:1009) stock was sluggish. Our analysis uncovered some concerning factors that we believe the market might be paying attention to.

View our latest analysis for International Entertainment

Operating Revenue Or Not?

At most companies, some revenue streams, such as government grants, are accounted for as non-operating revenue, while the core business is said to produce operating revenue. Generally speaking, operating revenue is a more reliable guide to the sustainable revenue generating capacity of the business. However, we note that when non-operating revenue increases suddenly, it will sometimes generate an unsustainable boost to profit. It's worth noting that International Entertainment saw a big increase in non-operating revenue over the last year. In fact, our data indicates that non-operating revenue increased from -HK$6.44m to -HK$1.06m. If that non-operating revenue fails to manifest in the current year, then there's a real risk the bottom line profit result will be impacted negatively. In order to better understand a company's profit result, it can sometimes help to consider whether the result would be very different without a sudden increase in non-operating revenue.

Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of International Entertainment.

Our Take On International Entertainment's Profit Performance

Since International Entertainment saw a big increase in its non-operating revenue over the last twelve months, we'd be very cautious about relying too heavily on the statutory profit number, which would have benefitted from this potentially unsustainable change. As a result, we think it may well be the case that International Entertainment's underlying earnings power is lower than its statutory profit. On the bright side, the company showed enough improvement to book a profit this year, after losing money last year. 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. Just as investors must consider earnings, it is also important to take into account the strength of a company's balance sheet. You can see our latest analysis on International Entertainment's balance sheet health here.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of International Entertainment'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.