Despite an already strong run, Sing Lee Software (Group) Limited (HKG:8076) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 58% in the last thirty days. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 27% in the last year.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, considering around half the companies operating in Hong Kong's Software industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 1.3x, you may still consider Sing Lee Software (Group) as an solid investment opportunity with its 0.3x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

What Does Sing Lee Software (Group)'s Recent Performance Look Like?

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Sing Lee Software (Group) over the last year, which is not ideal at all. Perhaps the market believes the recent revenue performance isn't good enough to keep up the industry, causing the P/S ratio to suffer. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Sing Lee Software (Group) would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 18% decrease to the company's top line. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 16% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 24% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

With this in mind, we understand why Sing Lee Software (Group)'s P/S is lower than most of its industry peers. However, we think shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. 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 Sing Lee Software (Group)'s P/S

Sing Lee Software (Group)'s stock price has surged recently, but its but its P/S still remains modest. It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

Our examination of Sing Lee Software (Group) confirms that the company's shrinking revenue over the past medium-term is a key factor in its low price-to-sales ratio, given the industry is projected 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. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Sing Lee Software (Group) that you should be aware of.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.