Etablissements Maurel & Prom's (EPA:MAU) Shareholders Are Down 48% On Their Shares

Etablissements Maurel & Prom S.A. (EPA:MAU) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 16% in the last quarter. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. After all, the share price is down 48% in the last three years, significantly under-performing the market.

View our latest analysis for Etablissements Maurel & Prom

Etablissements Maurel & Prom isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over three years, Etablissements Maurel & Prom grew revenue at 4.9% per year. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. Indeed, the stock dropped 14% over the last three years. Shareholders will probably be hoping growth picks up soon. But the real upside for shareholders will be if the company can start generating profits.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

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

A Different Perspective

Investors in Etablissements Maurel & Prom had a tough year, with a total loss of 26%, against a market gain of about 5.0%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 5% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Etablissements Maurel & Prom that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on FR exchanges.

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