Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology Company Limited (SHSE:600841) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 33% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 13% over that time.

Even after such a large jump in price, Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s price-to-sales (or “P/S”) ratio of 0.9x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the Machinery industry in China, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 2.8x and even P/S above 5x are quite common. Nonetheless, we’d need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology

What Does Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s Recent Performance Look Like?

For example, consider that Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. Perhaps the market believes the recent revenue performance isn’t good enough to keep up the industry, causing the P/S ratio to suffer. 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.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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

There’s an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, the company’s revenue growth last year wasn’t something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 13%. The last three years don’t look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 60% in aggregate. Therefore, it’s fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Weighing that medium-term revenue trajectory against the broader industry’s one-year forecast for expansion of 27% shows it’s an unpleasant look.

With this in mind, we understand why Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s P/S is lower than most of its industry peers. 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.

The Bottom Line On Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s P/S

Despite Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology’s share price climbing recently, its P/S still lags most other companies. 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. 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.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 2 warning signs for Shanghai New Power Automotive Technology that we have uncovered.

It’s important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.