Some China Gold International Resources Corp. Ltd. (TSE:CGG) shareholders are probably rather concerned to see the share price fall 34% over the last three months. But over five years returns have been remarkably great. Indeed, the share price is up a whopping 452% in that time. So we don't think the recent decline in the share price means its story is a sad one. The most important thing for savvy investors to consider is whether the underlying business can justify the share price gain.

While this past week has detracted from the company's five-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

View our latest analysis for China Gold International Resources

Because China Gold International Resources made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last 5 years China Gold International Resources saw its revenue shrink by 2.6% per year. This is in stark contrast to the strong share price growth of 41%, compound, per year. There can be no doubt this kind of decoupling of revenue growth and share price growth is unusual to see in loss making companies. At the risk of upsetting holders, this does suggest that hope for a better future is playing a significant role in the share price action.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Take a more thorough look at China Gold International Resources' financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between China Gold International Resources' total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. China Gold International Resources' TSR of 554% for the 5 years exceeded its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

Investors in China Gold International Resources had a tough year, with a total loss of 1.2%, against a market gain of about 26%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 46% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. Before spending more time on China Gold International Resources it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.