Lacklustre Performance Is Driving Parkson Retail Asia Limited's (SGX:O9E) Low P/S

When you see that almost half of the companies in the Multiline Retail industry in Singapore have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 0.7x, Parkson Retail Asia Limited (SGX:O9E) looks to be giving off some buy signals with its 0.2x 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.

View our latest analysis for Parkson Retail Asia

What Does Parkson Retail Asia's Recent Performance Look Like?

Parkson Retail Asia has been doing a decent job lately as it's been growing revenue at a reasonable pace. Perhaps the market believes the recent revenue performance might fall short of industry figures in the near future, leading to a reduced P/S. Those who are bullish on Parkson Retail Asia will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Parkson Retail Asia's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Is There Any Revenue Growth Forecasted For Parkson Retail Asia?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Parkson Retail Asia would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 4.2% last year. Ultimately though, it couldn't turn around the poor performance of the prior period, with revenue shrinking 4.5% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about 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 downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

With this information, we are not surprised that Parkson Retail Asia is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

What Does Parkson Retail Asia's P/S Mean For Investors?

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.

It's no surprise that Parkson Retail Asia maintains its low P/S off the back of its sliding revenue over the medium-term. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises either. 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.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 2 warning signs for Parkson Retail Asia that you should be aware of.

Of course, profitable companies with a history of great earnings growth are generally safer bets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.