Pinning Down China Television Media, Ltd.'s (SHSE:600088) P/S Is Difficult Right Now

With a median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of close to 7.9x in the Entertainment industry in China, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about China Television Media, Ltd.'s (SHSE:600088) P/S ratio of 8.8x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

See our latest analysis for China Television Media

How Has China Television Media Performed Recently?

It looks like revenue growth has deserted China Television Media recently, which is not something to boast about. One possibility is that the P/S is moderate because investors think this benign revenue growth rate might not be enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

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

Is There Some Revenue Growth Forecasted For China Television Media?

The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/S like China Television Media's is when the company's growth is tracking the industry closely.

If we review the last year of revenue, the company posted a result that saw barely any deviation from a year ago. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 46% overall rise in revenue, in spite of its uninspiring short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders will be pleased, but also have some questions to ponder about the last 12 months.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 32% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's curious that China Television Media's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. They may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

What Does China Television Media's P/S Mean For Investors?

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 China Television Media revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't resulting in a lower P/S as per our expectations, given they look worse than current industry outlook. When we see weak revenue with slower than industry growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, bringing the P/S back in line with expectations. Unless there is a significant improvement in the company's medium-term performance, it will be difficult to prevent the P/S ratio from declining to a more reasonable level.

Plus, you should also learn about these 3 warning signs we've spotted with China Television Media.

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.