Intraco Limited (SGX:I06) shareholders have had their patience rewarded with a 29% share price jump in the last month. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 10.0% over that time.

Although its price has surged higher, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Intraco's P/S ratio of 0.2x, since the median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio for the Trade Distributors industry in Singapore is also close to 0.4x. 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.

See our latest analysis for Intraco

How Intraco Has Been Performing

For instance, Intraco's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. Perhaps investors believe the recent revenue performance is enough to keep in line with the industry, which is keeping the P/S from dropping off. 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?

Intraco's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 15% decrease to the company's top line. That put a dampener on the good run it was having over the longer-term as its three-year revenue growth is still a noteworthy 18% in total. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

When compared to the industry's one-year growth forecast of 3.6%, the most recent medium-term revenue trajectory is noticeably more alluring

In light of this, it's curious that Intraco's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance is at its limits and have been accepting lower selling prices.

What Does Intraco's P/S Mean For Investors?

Intraco's stock has a lot of momentum behind it lately, which has brought its P/S level with the rest of the industry. It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that Intraco currently trades on a lower than expected P/S since its recent three-year growth is higher than the wider industry forecast. When we see strong revenue with faster-than-industry growth, we can only assume potential risks are what might be placing pressure on the P/S ratio. 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.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Intraco you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.