Even though Hiconics Eco-energy Technology (SZSE:300048) has lost CN¥637m market cap in last 7 days, shareholders are still up 85% over 5 years

Hiconics Eco-energy Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300048) shareholders have seen the share price descend 14% over the month. Looking further back, the stock has generated good profits over five years. It has returned a market beating 85% in that time. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for five years, so spare a thought for those caught in the 33% decline over the last three years: that's a long time to wait for profits.

Although Hiconics Eco-energy Technology has shed CN¥637m from its market cap this week, let's take a look at its longer term fundamental trends and see if they've driven returns.

View our latest analysis for Hiconics Eco-energy Technology

Given that Hiconics Eco-energy Technology 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. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one would hope for good top-line growth to make up for the lack of earnings.

For the last half decade, Hiconics Eco-energy Technology can boast revenue growth at a rate of 15% per year. Even measured against other revenue-focussed companies, that's a good result. It's good to see that the stock has 13%, but not entirely surprising given revenue shows strong growth. If the strong revenue growth continues, we'd hope to see the share price to follow, in time. Opportunity lies where the market hasn't fully priced growth in the underlying business.

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

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 6.1% in the last year, Hiconics Eco-energy Technology shareholders lost 4.5%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 13%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. Shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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

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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.