Xinming China Holdings Limited (HKG:2699) Could Be Riskier Than It Looks

Xinming China Holdings Limited's (HKG:2699) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.1x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Real Estate industry in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 0.6x and even P/S above 3x are quite common. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

See our latest analysis for Xinming China Holdings

What Does Xinming China Holdings' Recent Performance Look Like?

The revenue growth achieved at Xinming China Holdings over the last year would be more than acceptable for most companies. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think this respectable revenue growth might actually underperform the broader industry in the near future. Those who are bullish on Xinming China Holdings will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

How Is Xinming China Holdings' Revenue Growth Trending?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 9.5% last year. The latest three year period has seen an incredible overall rise in revenue, even though the last 12 month performance was only fair. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a tremendous job of growing revenue over that time.

Comparing that to the industry, which is only predicted to deliver 5.2% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Xinming China Holdings' P/S sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance has exceeded its limits and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

The Bottom Line On Xinming China Holdings' P/S

While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

We're very surprised to see Xinming China Holdings currently trading on a much lower than expected P/S since its recent three-year growth is higher than the wider industry forecast. When we see strong revenue with faster-than-industry growth, we assume there are some significant underlying risks to the company's ability to make money which is applying downwards pressure on the P/S ratio. It appears many are indeed anticipating revenue instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 4 warning signs for Xinming China Holdings (3 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Xinming China Holdings, 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.