Lacklustre Performance Is Driving Witbe S.A.'s (EPA:ALWIT) 27% Price Drop

Witbe S.A. (EPA:ALWIT) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 27% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 45% share price drop.

Following the heavy fall in price, when close to half the companies operating in France's IT industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 0.9x, you may consider Witbe as an enticing stock to check out with its 0.3x P/S ratio. 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 Witbe

What Does Witbe's P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Witbe hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining revenue compares poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth in their revenues on average. It seems that many are expecting the poor revenue performance to persist, which has repressed the P/S ratio. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Witbe.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

Witbe's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 14% decrease to the company's top line. That put a dampener on the good run it was having over the longer-term as its three-year revenue growth is still a noteworthy 28% in total. 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.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should bring diminished returns, with revenue decreasing 0.2% as estimated by the lone analyst watching the company. With the industry predicted to deliver 1.0% growth, that's a disappointing outcome.

With this information, we are not surprised that Witbe is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. However, shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

The Final Word

Witbe's P/S has taken a dip along with its share price. It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

It's clear to see that Witbe maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its forecast for sliding revenue, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless there's material change, it's hard to envision a situation where the stock price will rise drastically.

Plus, you should also learn about these 3 warning signs we've spotted with Witbe (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us).

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.