With Alpha Professional Holdings Limited (HKG:948) It Looks Like You'll Get What You Pay For

With a median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of close to 0.4x in the Electronic industry in Hong Kong, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Alpha Professional Holdings Limited's (HKG:948) P/S ratio, which comes in at about the same. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

Check out our latest analysis for Alpha Professional Holdings

How Alpha Professional Holdings Has Been Performing

For example, consider that Alpha Professional Holdings' financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. It might be that many expect the company to put the disappointing revenue performance behind them over the coming period, which has kept the P/S from falling. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Alpha Professional Holdings will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

How Is Alpha Professional Holdings' Revenue Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Alpha Professional Holdings would need to produce growth that's similar to the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 49% decrease to the company's top line. Even so, admirably revenue has lifted 37% in aggregate from three years ago, notwithstanding the last 12 months. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would definitely welcome the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 12% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is pretty similar based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

In light of this, it's understandable that Alpha Professional Holdings' P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see average growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a moderate amount for the stock.

The Final Word

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.

As we've seen, Alpha Professional Holdings' three-year revenue trends seem to be contributing to its P/S, given they look similar to current industry expectations. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/S as they are quite confident future revenue won't throw up any surprises. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

Having said that, be aware Alpha Professional Holdings is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.

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.