Mexan Limited (HKG:22) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 38% gain and recovering from prior weakness. The bad news is that even after the stocks recovery in the last 30 days, shareholders are still underwater by about 8.8% over the last year.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Mexan's P/S ratio of 0.7x, since the median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio for the Hospitality industry in Hong Kong is about the same. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/S.

How Mexan Has Been Performing

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Mexan as its revenue has been rising very briskly. The P/S is probably moderate because investors think this strong revenue growth might not be enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Is There Some Revenue Growth Forecasted For Mexan?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Mexan's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 40% last year. Spectacularly, three year revenue growth has ballooned by several orders of magnitude, thanks in part to the last 12 months of revenue growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have been over the moon with those medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that recent medium-term revenue trajectory with the industry's one-year growth forecast of 16% shows it's noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we find it interesting that Mexan is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

What Does Mexan's P/S Mean For Investors?

Mexan appears to be back in favour with a solid price jump bringing its P/S back in line with other companies in the industry Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

To our surprise, Mexan revealed its three-year revenue trends aren't contributing to its P/S as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current industry expectations. There could be some unobserved threats to revenue preventing the P/S ratio from matching this positive performance. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued if recent medium-term revenue trends continue, but investors seem to think future revenue could see some volatility.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Mexan that you should be aware of.

If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.