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By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But many of us dare to dream of bigger returns, and build a portfolio ourselves. For example, the Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad (KLSE:MHB) share price is up 66% in the last three years, clearly besting the market decline of around 1.3% (not including dividends). On the other hand, the returns haven't been quite so good recently, with shareholders up just 32% , including dividends .

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad 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 3 years Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad saw its revenue grow at 16% per year. That's a very respectable growth rate. The share price gain of 18% per year shows that the market is paying attention to this growth. If that's the case, then it could be well worth while to research the growth trajectory. Of course, it's always worth considering funding risks when a company isn't profitable.

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

earnings-and-revenue-growth

If you are thinking of buying or selling Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad's TSR for the last 3 years was 69%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

Story continues

It's good to see that Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 32% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. That certainly beats the loss of about 4% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad's (KLSE:MHB) investors will be pleased with their respectable 69% return over the last three...