It might be of some concern to shareholders to see the Linhai Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600099) share price down 25% in the last month. But that shouldn't obscure the pleasing returns achieved by shareholders over the last three years. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 40% in that time.

While this past week has detracted from the company's three-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

Given that LinhaiLtd only made minimal earnings in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue to gauge its business development. Generally speaking, we'd consider a stock like this alongside loss-making companies, simply because the quantum of the profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.

Over the last three years LinhaiLtd has grown its revenue at 5.5% annually. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. The modest growth is probably broadly reflected in the share price, which is up 12%, per year over 3 years. The real question is when the business will generate profits, and how quickly they will grow. In this sort of situation it can be worth putting the stock on your watchlist. If it can become profitable, then even moderate revenue growth could grow profits quickly.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

Take a more thorough look at LinhaiLtd's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, LinhaiLtd shareholders can take comfort that , including dividends,their trailing twelve month loss of 18% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 26%. Of course, the long term returns are far more important and the good news is that over five years, the stock has returned 7% for each year. In the best case scenario the last year is just a temporary blip on the journey to a brighter future. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for LinhaiLtd that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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.