When close to half the companies in the Auto industry in China have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.9x, you may consider Haima Automobile Co.,Ltd (SZSE:000572) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 2.5x P/S ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's as high as it is.

How Haima AutomobileLtd Has Been Performing

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Haima AutomobileLtd over the last year, which is not ideal at all. Perhaps the market believes the company can do enough to outperform the rest of the industry in the near future, which is keeping the P/S ratio high. If not, then existing shareholders may be quite nervous about the viability of the share price.

Is There Enough Revenue Growth Forecasted For Haima AutomobileLtd?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as high as Haima AutomobileLtd's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the industry.

Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 27%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow revenue by an impressive 32% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 53% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's alarming that Haima AutomobileLtd's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

The Key Takeaway

While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

The fact that Haima AutomobileLtd currently trades on a higher P/S relative to the industry is an oddity, since its recent three-year growth is lower than the wider industry forecast. When we observe slower-than-industry revenue growth alongside a high P/S ratio, we assume there to be a significant risk of the share price decreasing, which would result in a lower P/S ratio. Unless there is a significant improvement in the company's medium-term performance, it will be difficult to prevent the P/S ratio from declining to a more reasonable level.

The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for Haima AutomobileLtd with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

If you're unsure about the strength of Haima AutomobileLtd'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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