Unfortunately for some shareholders, the VPower Group International Holdings Limited (HKG:1608) share price has dived 26% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 35% in that time.

Although its price has dipped substantially, it's still not a stretch to say that VPower Group International Holdings' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.9x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Electrical industry in Hong Kong, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.5x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

Check out our latest analysis for VPower Group International Holdings

What Does VPower Group International Holdings' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

For example, consider that VPower Group International Holdings' financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. It might be that many expect the company to put the disappointing revenue performance behind them over the coming period, which has kept the P/S from falling. If you like the company, you'd at least be hoping this is the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

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

The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/S like VPower Group International Holdings' is when the company's growth is tracking the industry closely.

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 47%. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 29% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 24% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this information, we find it concerning that VPower Group International Holdings is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate 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 the recent negative growth rates.

The Key Takeaway

With its share price dropping off a cliff, the P/S for VPower Group International Holdings looks to be in line with the rest of the Electrical industry. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

Our look at VPower Group International Holdings revealed its shrinking revenues over the medium-term haven't impacted the P/S as much as we anticipated, given the industry is set to grow. Even though it matches the industry, we're uncomfortable with the current P/S ratio, as this dismal revenue performance is unlikely to support a more positive sentiment for long. Unless the the circumstances surrounding the recent medium-term improve, it wouldn't be wrong to expect a a difficult period ahead for the company's shareholders.

Plus, you should also learn about these 4 warning signs we've spotted with VPower Group International Holdings (including 3 which are potentially serious).

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on VPower Group International Holdings, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.