China In-Tech Limited (HKG:464) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 37% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Longer-term, the stock has been solid despite a difficult 30 days, gaining 13% in the last year.

Even after such a large drop in price, when almost half of the companies in Hong Kong's Consumer Durables industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 0.5x, you may still consider China In-Tech as a stock probably not worth researching with its 1.3x 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 as high as it is.

See our latest analysis for China In-Tech

What Does China In-Tech's Recent Performance Look Like?

For instance, China In-Tech's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. It might be that many expect the company to still outplay most other companies over the coming period, which has kept the P/S from collapsing. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

How Is China In-Tech's Revenue Growth Trending?

China In-Tech's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 42% decrease to the company's top line. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 67% in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 34% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this information, we find it concerning that China In-Tech is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a very good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the recent negative growth rates.

The Key Takeaway

China In-Tech's P/S remain high even after its stock plunged. We'd say the price-to-sales ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that China In-Tech currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its recent revenues have been in decline over the medium-term. With a revenue decline on investors' minds, the likelihood of a souring sentiment is quite high which could send the P/S back in line with what we'd expect. Unless the the circumstances surrounding the recent medium-term improve, it wouldn't be wrong to expect a a difficult period ahead for the company's shareholders.

Plus, you should also learn about these 3 warning signs we've spotted with China In-Tech.

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.