With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 10.3x Inner Mongolia ERDOS Resources Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600295) may be sending very bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios greater than 32x and even P/E's higher than 58x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

For instance, Inner Mongolia ERDOS ResourcesLtd's receding earnings in recent times would have to be some food for thought. It might be that many expect the disappointing earnings performance to continue or accelerate, which has repressed the P/E. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Inner Mongolia ERDOS ResourcesLtd

Is There Any Growth For Inner Mongolia ERDOS ResourcesLtd?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as depressed as Inner Mongolia ERDOS ResourcesLtd's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market decidedly.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 61%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 110% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would probably welcome the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 42% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why Inner Mongolia ERDOS ResourcesLtd is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on to something they believe will continue to trail the bourse.

The Final Word

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that Inner Mongolia ERDOS ResourcesLtd maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

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

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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