Gem-Year Industrial Co.,Ltd.'s (SHSE:601002) Shares Bounce 33% But Its Business Still Trails The Industry

Despite an already strong run, Gem-Year Industrial Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:601002) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 33% in the last thirty days. Longer-term shareholders would be thankful for the recovery in the share price since it's now virtually flat for the year after the recent bounce.

Even after such a large jump in price, Gem-Year IndustrialLtd's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.9x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the Machinery industry in China, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 2.9x and even P/S above 5x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

View our latest analysis for Gem-Year IndustrialLtd

What Does Gem-Year IndustrialLtd's Recent Performance Look Like?

We'd have to say that with no tangible growth over the last year, Gem-Year IndustrialLtd's revenue has been unimpressive. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think this benign revenue growth rate will likely underperform the broader industry in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Gem-Year IndustrialLtd, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Gem-Year IndustrialLtd would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Taking a look back first, we see that there was hardly any revenue growth to speak of for the company over the past year. This isn't what shareholders were looking for as it means they've been left with a 20% decline in revenue over the last three years in total. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 26% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this in mind, we understand why Gem-Year IndustrialLtd's P/S is lower than most of its industry peers. However, we think shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent revenue trends are already weighing down the shares.

What Does Gem-Year IndustrialLtd's P/S Mean For Investors?

Despite Gem-Year IndustrialLtd's share price climbing recently, its P/S still lags most other companies. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

It's no surprise that Gem-Year IndustrialLtd maintains its low P/S off the back of its sliding revenue over the medium-term. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises either. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Gem-Year IndustrialLtd (including 1 which is significant).

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.