Hume Cement Industries Berhad (KLSE:HUMEIND) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 19% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last half decade have been disappointing. In that time the share price has delivered a rude shock to holders, who find themselves down 55% after a long stretch. So we're not so sure if the recent bounce should be celebrated. But it could be that the fall was overdone.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

Check out our latest analysis for Hume Cement Industries Berhad

Given that Hume Cement Industries Berhad only made minimal earnings in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue to gauge its business development. Generally speaking, we'd consider a stock like this alongside loss-making companies, simply because the quantum of the profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.

Over half a decade Hume Cement Industries Berhad reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 0.2% for each year. While far from catastrophic that is not good. The share price decline of 9% compound, over five years, is understandable given the company is losing money, and revenue is moving in the wrong direction. The chance of imminent investor enthusiasm for this stock seems slimmer than Louise Brooks. Not that many investors like to invest in companies that are losing money and not growing revenue.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Hume Cement Industries Berhad stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Hume Cement Industries Berhad shareholders are down 17% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 1.9%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 9% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Hume Cement Industries Berhad .