Revenues Not Telling The Story For Jilin Joinature Polymer Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:688716) After Shares Rise 33%

Jilin Joinature Polymer Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:688716) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 33% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. 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.

Since its price has surged higher, given around half the companies in China's Chemicals industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.9x, you may consider Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd as a stock to avoid entirely with its 14x P/S ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

View our latest analysis for Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd

How Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd Has Been Performing

Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue at a solid pace. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is high because investors think this respectable revenue growth will be enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The High P/S Ratio?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 11%. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 78% in aggregate from three years ago, partly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Comparing the recent medium-term revenue trends against the industry's one-year growth forecast of 25% shows it's noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's alarming that Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

The Key Takeaway

Shares in Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd have seen a strong upwards swing lately, which has really helped boost its P/S figure. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

Our examination of Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't detracting from the P/S as much as we though, given they look worse than current industry expectations. When we see slower than industry revenue growth but an elevated P/S, there's considerable risk of the share price declining, sending the P/S lower. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these the share price as being reasonable.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 2 warning signs for Jilin Joinature PolymerLtd that we have uncovered.

Of course, profitable companies with a history of great earnings growth are generally safer bets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.