Jinyuan EP Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:000546) Shares Lagging The Industry But So Is The Business

Jinyuan EP Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:000546) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.6x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Basic Materials industry in China, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 1.3x and even P/S above 4x 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.

See our latest analysis for Jinyuan EP

What Does Jinyuan EP's Recent Performance Look Like?

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Jinyuan EP as its revenue has been rising very briskly. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is low because investors think this strong revenue growth might actually underperform the broader industry in the near future. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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

How Is Jinyuan EP's Revenue Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Jinyuan EP would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 110% gain to the company's top line. Still, revenue has fallen 41% in total from three years ago, which is quite disappointing. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 11% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this information, we are not surprised that Jinyuan EP is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. 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.

The Final Word

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 Jinyuan EP 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.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Jinyuan EP you should be aware of.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.