Sino Hotels (Holdings) Limited (HKG:1221) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 25% in the last month. But if you look at the last five years the returns have not been good. In fact, the share price is down 31%, which falls well short of the return you could get by buying an index fund.

On a more encouraging note the company has added HK$411m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the five-year loss for shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for Sino Hotels (Holdings)

Sino Hotels (Holdings) wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last five years Sino Hotels (Holdings) saw its revenue shrink by 24% per year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. It seems pretty reasonable to us that the share price dipped 6% per year in that time. We doubt many shareholders are delighted with this share price performance. It is possible for businesses to bounce back but as Buffett says, 'turnarounds seldom turn'.

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

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered Sino Hotels (Holdings)'s share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Sino Hotels (Holdings)'s TSR of was a loss of 27% for the 5 years. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

Although it hurts that Sino Hotels (Holdings) returned a loss of 3.9% in the last twelve months, the broader market was actually worse, returning a loss of 8.7%. Of far more concern is the 5% p.a. loss served to shareholders over the last five years. This sort of share price action isn't particularly encouraging, but at least the losses are slowing. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Sino Hotels (Holdings) that you should be aware of.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK 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.