Investors in Shandong Chiway Industry DevelopmentLtd (SZSE:002374) from a year ago are still down 49%, even after 13% gain this past week

It's nice to see the Shandong Chiway Industry Development Co.,Ltd (SZSE:002374) share price up 13% in a week. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last year have been less than pleasing. In fact, the price has declined 49% in a year, falling short of the returns you could get by investing in an index fund.

While the last year has been tough for Shandong Chiway Industry DevelopmentLtd shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.

See our latest analysis for Shandong Chiway Industry DevelopmentLtd

Shandong Chiway Industry DevelopmentLtd isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. 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.

Shandong Chiway Industry DevelopmentLtd's revenue didn't grow at all in the last year. In fact, it fell 1.9%. That looks pretty grim, at a glance. Shareholders have seen the share price drop 49% in that time. What would you expect when revenue is falling, and it doesn't make a profit? We think most holders must believe revenue growth will improve, or else costs will decline.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Shandong Chiway Industry DevelopmentLtd stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 14% in the twelve months, Shandong Chiway Industry DevelopmentLtd shareholders did even worse, losing 49%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 6% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Shandong Chiway Industry DevelopmentLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Shandong Chiway Industry DevelopmentLtd has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will 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.