Mayne Pharma Group Limited (ASX:MYX) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 22% in the last month. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been less than pleasing. After all, the share price is down 52% in that time, significantly under-performing the market.

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 Mayne Pharma Group

Because Mayne Pharma Group 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. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

Over half a decade Mayne Pharma Group reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 17% for each year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. Arguably, the market has responded appropriately to this business performance by sending the share price down 9% (annualized) in the same time period. We don't generally like to own companies that lose money and don't grow revenues. You might be better off spending your money on a leisure activity. This looks like a really risky stock to buy, at a glance.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Mayne Pharma Group

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Mayne Pharma Group's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. We note that Mayne Pharma Group's TSR, at -45% is higher than its share price return of -52%. When you consider it hasn't been paying a dividend, this data suggests shareholders have benefitted from a spin-off, or had the opportunity to acquire attractively priced shares in a discounted capital raising.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Mayne Pharma Group shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 36% over one year. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 8% per year over five years. 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. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Even so, be aware that Mayne Pharma Group is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...