The 3.9% return this week takes Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology's (SZSE:002865) shareholders five-year gains to 473%

It hasn't been the best quarter for Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002865) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 11% in that time. But that doesn't undermine the fantastic longer term performance (measured over five years). In that time, the share price has soared some 456% higher! So we don't think the recent decline in the share price means its story is a sad one. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for the long term, so spare a thought for those caught in the 17% decline over the last twelve months.

The past week has proven to be lucrative for Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology investors, so let's see if fundamentals drove the company's five-year performance.

Check out our latest analysis for Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology

Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

For the last half decade, Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology can boast revenue growth at a rate of 56% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. Fortunately, the market has not missed this, and has pushed the share price up by 41% per year in that time. Despite the strong run, top performers like Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology have been known to go on winning for decades. So we'd recommend you take a closer look at this one, but keep in mind the market seems optimistic.

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

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

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology, it has a TSR of 473% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 14% in the last year, Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology shareholders lost 16% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 42% per year over half a decade. 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

But note: Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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.