HPF Co.,Ltd (SZSE:300350) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 27% in the last week. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been less than pleasing. After all, the share price is down 15% in the last three years, significantly under-performing the market.

Although the past week has been more reassuring for shareholders, they're still in the red over the last three years, so let's see if the underlying business has been responsible for the decline.

See our latest analysis for HPFLtd

HPFLtd isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

Over three years, HPFLtd grew revenue at 1.3% per year. Given it's losing money in pursuit of growth, we are not really impressed with that. Indeed, the stock dropped 5% over the last three years. Shareholders will probably be hoping growth picks up soon. But ultimately the key will be whether the company can become profitability.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on HPFLtd's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that HPFLtd shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 8.4% over the last year. That certainly beats the loss of about 1.4% per year over the last half decade. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand HPFLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with HPFLtd , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But note: HPFLtd may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Chinese exchanges.

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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.