MAA Group Berhad's (KLSE:MAA) Shares Lagging The Industry But So Is The Business

You may think that with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x MAA Group Berhad (KLSE:MAA) is a stock worth checking out, seeing as almost half of all the Hospitality companies in Malaysia have P/S ratios greater than 0.9x and even P/S higher than 3x aren't out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

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Check out our latest analysis for MAA Group Berhad

What Does MAA Group Berhad's Recent Performance Look Like?

With revenue growth that's exceedingly strong of late, MAA Group Berhad has been doing very well. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/S ratio. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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

How Is MAA Group Berhad's Revenue Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like MAA Group Berhad's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 40% gain to the company's top line. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen the company endure a nasty 17% drop in revenue in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Weighing that medium-term revenue trajectory against the broader industry's one-year forecast for expansion of 9.6% shows it's an unpleasant look.

In light of this, it's understandable that MAA Group Berhad's P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. However, we think shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

What We Can Learn From MAA Group Berhad's P/S?

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

As we suspected, our examination of MAA Group Berhad revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term is contributing to its low P/S, given the industry is set to grow. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises either. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 3 warning signs for MAA Group Berhad (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.