QPL International Holdings Limited's (HKG:243) 26% Dip In Price Shows Sentiment Is Matching Revenues

QPL International Holdings Limited (HKG:243) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 26% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Still, a bad month hasn't completely ruined the past year with the stock gaining 94%, which is great even in a bull market.

Since its price has dipped substantially, QPL International Holdings' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Semiconductor industry in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 2x and even P/S above 6x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

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View our latest analysis for QPL International Holdings

How QPL International Holdings Has Been Performing

Revenue has risen firmly for QPL International Holdings recently, which is pleasing to see. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think this respectable revenue growth might actually underperform the broader industry in the near future. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like QPL International Holdings' to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 15% last year. Still, lamentably revenue has fallen 38% in aggregate from three years ago, which is disappointing. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 23% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

In light of this, it's understandable that QPL International Holdings' P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. However, we think shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

The Final Word

QPL International Holdings' recently weak share price has pulled its P/S back below other Semiconductor companies. 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.

It's no surprise that QPL International Holdings maintains its low P/S off the back of its sliding revenue over the medium-term. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 4 warning signs for QPL International Holdings you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

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.