Balta Group's (EBR:BALTA) Shareholders Are Down 86% On Their Shares

It is a pleasure to report that the Balta Group NV (EBR:BALTA) is up 44% in the last quarter. But only the myopic could ignore the astounding decline over three years. To wit, the share price sky-dived 86% in that time. So we're relieved for long term holders to see a bit of uplift. Only time will tell if the company can sustain the turnaround.

While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.

View our latest analysis for Balta Group

Given that Balta Group didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

Over three years, Balta Group grew revenue at 0.07% per year. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. But the share price crash at 23% per year does seem a bit harsh! We generally don't try to 'catch the falling knife'. Of course, revenue growth is nice but generally speaking the lower the profits, the riskier the business - and this business isn't making steady profits.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

A Different Perspective

Balta Group shareholders are down 42% for the year, falling short of the market return. The market shed around 10%, no doubt weighing on the stock price. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 23% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last three years. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Balta Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored.

We will like Balta Group better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on BE exchanges.

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