04-04-2025
There May Be Underlying Issues With The Quality Of Teck Guan Perdana Berhad's (KLSE:TECGUAN) Earnings
Teck Guan Perdana Berhad (KLSE:TECGUAN) just reported some strong earnings, and the market reacted accordingly with a healthy uplift in the share price. However, we think that shareholders may be missing some concerning details in the numbers.
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As finance nerds would already know, the accrual ratio from cashflow is a key measure for assessing how well a company's free cash flow (FCF) matches its profit. To get the accrual ratio we first subtract FCF from profit for a period, and then divide that number by the average operating assets for the period. You could think of the accrual ratio from cashflow as the 'non-FCF profit ratio'.
As a result, a negative accrual ratio is a positive for the company, and a positive accrual ratio is a negative. While it's not a problem to have a positive accrual ratio, indicating a certain level of non-cash profits, a high accrual ratio is arguably a bad thing, because it indicates paper profits are not matched by cash flow. That's because some academic studies have suggested that high accruals ratios tend to lead to lower profit or less profit growth.
For the year to January 2025, Teck Guan Perdana Berhad had an accrual ratio of 0.29. Therefore, we know that it's free cashflow was significantly lower than its statutory profit, raising questions about how useful that profit figure really is. Even though it reported a profit of RM21.2m, a look at free cash flow indicates it actually burnt through RM3.9m in the last year. It's worth noting that Teck Guan Perdana Berhad generated positive FCF of RM11m a year ago, so at least they've done it in the past. The good news for shareholders is that Teck Guan Perdana Berhad's accrual ratio was much better last year, so this year's poor reading might simply be a case of a short term mismatch between profit and FCF. As a result, some shareholders may be looking for stronger cash conversion in the current year.
Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of Teck Guan Perdana Berhad .
Teck Guan Perdana Berhad didn't convert much of its profit to free cash flow in the last year, which some investors may consider rather suboptimal. Because of this, we think that it may be that Teck Guan Perdana Berhad's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. But the happy news is that, while acknowledging we have to look beyond the statutory numbers, those numbers are still improving, with EPS growing at a very high rate over 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. If you'd like to know more about Teck Guan Perdana Berhad as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Teck Guan Perdana Berhad (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.
This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Teck Guan Perdana Berhad'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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) 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.
