Even after rising 17% this past week, Taihan Fiber Optics (KOSDAQ:010170) shareholders are still down 63% over the past five years

Taihan Fiber Optics Co., Ltd (KOSDAQ:010170) shareholders will doubtless be very grateful to see the share price up 93% in the last quarter. But that can't change the reality that over the longer term (five years), the returns have been really quite dismal. The share price has failed to impress anyone , down a sizable 66% during that time. Some might say the recent bounce is to be expected after such a bad drop. Of course, this could be the start of a turnaround.

Although the past week has been more reassuring for shareholders, they're still in the red over the last five years, so let's see if the underlying business has been responsible for the decline.

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Because Taihan Fiber Optics made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

Over five years, Taihan Fiber Optics grew its revenue at 3.6% per year. That's far from impressive given all the money it is losing. It's likely this weak growth has contributed to an annualised return of 11% for the last five years. We want to see an acceleration of revenue growth (or profits) before showing much interest in this one. However, it's possible too many in the market will ignore it, and there may be an opportunity if it starts to recover down the track.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

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

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Taihan Fiber Optics' total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. We note that Taihan Fiber Optics' TSR, at -63% is higher than its share price return of -66%. When you consider it hasn't been paying a dividend, this data suggests shareholders have benefitted from a spin-off, or had the opportunity to acquire attractively priced shares in a discounted capital raising.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Taihan Fiber Optics shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 27% over the last year. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 10% per year over five years. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Taihan Fiber Optics better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Taihan Fiber Optics you should be aware of, and 3 of them are significant.

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