Chengdu CORPRO Technology Co.,Ltd.'s (SZSE:300101) Share Price Could Signal Some Risk

Chengdu CORPRO Technology Co.,Ltd.'s (SZSE:300101) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 10x may look like a poor investment opportunity when you consider close to half the companies in the Communications industry in China have P/S ratios below 3.9x. However, the P/S might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

View our latest analysis for Chengdu CORPRO TechnologyLtd

What Does Chengdu CORPRO TechnologyLtd's P/S Mean For Shareholders?

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Chengdu CORPRO TechnologyLtd over the last year, which is not ideal at all. Perhaps the market believes the company can do enough to outperform the rest of the industry in the near future, which is keeping the P/S ratio high. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

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

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/S?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Chengdu CORPRO TechnologyLtd would need to produce outstanding growth that's well in excess of the industry.

Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 32%. Regardless, revenue has managed to lift by a handy 18% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 47% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this in mind, we find it worrying that Chengdu CORPRO TechnologyLtd's P/S exceeds that of its industry peers. 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.

What Does Chengdu CORPRO TechnologyLtd's P/S Mean For Investors?

While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

The fact that Chengdu CORPRO TechnologyLtd currently trades on a higher P/S relative to the industry is an oddity, since its recent three-year growth is lower than the wider industry forecast. Right now we aren't comfortable with the high P/S as this revenue performance isn't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. 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.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Chengdu CORPRO TechnologyLtd has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.

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