AustAsia Group Ltd. (HKG:2425) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 32% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Still, the 30-day jump doesn't change the fact that longer term shareholders have seen their stock decimated by the 54% share price drop in the last twelve months.

Although its price has surged higher, it's still not a stretch to say that AustAsia Group's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Food industry in Hong Kong, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.6x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

How AustAsia Group Has Been Performing

The recent revenue growth at AustAsia Group would have to be considered satisfactory if not spectacular. One possibility is that the P/S is moderate because investors think this good revenue growth might only be parallel to the broader industry in the near future. If not, then at least existing shareholders probably aren't too pessimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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

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

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 3.2%. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see revenue up by 49% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 8.7% over the next year, materially lower than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's curious that AustAsia Group's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

The Bottom Line On AustAsia Group's P/S

Its shares have lifted substantially and now AustAsia Group's P/S is back within range of the industry median. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

To our surprise, AustAsia Group 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. It'd be fair to assume that potential risks the company faces could be the contributing factor to the lower than expected P/S. It appears some are indeed anticipating revenue instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for AustAsia Group that you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of AustAsia Group's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.

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