Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology Company Limited (SHSE:600841) shareholders won’t be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 28% and undoing the prior period’s positive performance. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 34% in that time.

Since its price has dipped substantially, given about half the companies operating in China’s Machinery industry have price-to-sales ratios (or “P/S”) above 2.3x, you may consider Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology as an attractive investment with its 0.6x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we’d need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

See our latest analysis for Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology

How Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology Has Been Performing

For instance, Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. It might be that many expect the disappointing revenue performance to continue or accelerate, which has repressed the P/S. Those who are bullish on Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology will be hoping that this isn’t the case so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

How Is Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s Revenue Growth Trending?

Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’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 8.7% decrease to the company’s top line. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 78% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Weighing that medium-term revenue trajectory against the broader industry’s one-year forecast for expansion of 22% shows it’s an unpleasant look.

With this information, we are not surprised that Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology 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. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent revenue trends are already weighing down the shares.

The Final Word

Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s P/S has taken a dip along with its share price. Typically, we’d caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

As we suspected, our examination of Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term is contributing to its low P/S, given the industry is set to grow. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn’t great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. Given the current circumstances, it seems unlikely that the share price will experience any significant movement in either direction in the near future if recent medium-term revenue trends persist.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we’ve spotted with Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.