Thai Beverage Public Company Limited's (SGX:Y92) recent earnings report didn't offer any surprises, with the shares unchanged over the last week. We did some digging, and we think that investors are missing some encouraging factors in the underlying numbers.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

Importantly, our data indicates that Thai Beverage's profit was reduced by ฿4.7b, due to unusual items, over the last year. It's never great to see unusual items costing the company profits, but on the upside, things might improve sooner rather than later. When we analysed the vast majority of listed companies worldwide, we found that significant unusual items are often not repeated. And that's hardly a surprise given these line items are considered unusual. Assuming those unusual expenses don't come up again, we'd therefore expect Thai Beverage to produce a higher profit next year, all else being equal.

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 Thai Beverage's Profit Performance

Because unusual items detracted from Thai Beverage's earnings over the last year, you could argue that we can expect an improved result in the current quarter. Based on this observation, we consider it likely that Thai Beverage's statutory profit actually understates its earnings potential! And on top of that, its earnings per share have grown at 10% per year over the last three years. 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. If you'd like to know more about Thai Beverage as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Thai Beverage.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Thai Beverage's profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. 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. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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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.