About five years ago I pointed out that the local commercial property sector (i.e. REITs) in South Africa was heading for trouble (see Part I and Part II). I would have preferred to be wrong but—and in no small part helped by the pandemic—this has played out as expected and almost every single REIT on…
Category: Small Caps & Other Stocks
South African-listed small caps and a range of select other interesting listed stocks.
Profiting Off Delistings
All shares prices on all stock markets around the world are minority valuations. They reflect what markets think an investment without control is worth. The moment an investor takes control of a company, though, they can—effectively—access the cash flows of that business. And, for this reason, that control is worth something. Therefore, bids to take…
JSE-listed Preference Shares
Preference shares are an underappreciated asset class, particularly for income-seeking private investors who are less constrained than institutions when it comes to liquidity. But what are preference shares? Preference shares are shares with special rights attaching to them. Each preference share is unique but most have the following characteristics: Dividends: Preference shares typically pay a…
Trellidor: Building up to a Rally
Originally published over here. Cashbuild (CSB) recently indicated that their sales till end of December 2020 had jumped +24% y/y. Massmart too has indicated a strong second-half recovery in their Builders Warehouse sales with Spar’s BuildIT outfit echoing the same sentiment. While these are great results, they are not unique. Building materials, DIY and home…
Afrocentric vs. Discovery
ORIGINAL ARTICLE APPEARS HERE. Having listed on the JSE in 1999, Discovery Ltd (DSY) has been a phenomenal success generating early investors multiples of their money. The Group administers the Discovery Medical Aid (a separate legal entity to the listed company) and, through data mining, clever incentives and cross-selling, the Group has won huge medical…
Redefine Properties: Is this REIT-listic?
Late on Friday, Redefine Properties (RDF) published its long-awaited dividend announcement for the year-ended August 2020. You can find the full announcement here: LINK. A Real Estate Investment Trust (i.e. “REIT”) has some special privileges and they come with some onerous requirements. If you don’t satisfy the requirements of being a REIT, you lose the…
Finding value in SA’s small- and mid-cap sector
Diversification across sectors is the best hedge against bad luck, stresses Keith McLachlan in a Moneyweb interview. Find the full interview over here: LINK.
Small & Mid Cap Snap Back
Click on the embedded video below to play it.
Ascendis Health: Why I Sold
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on March 29, 2017 I have been following Ascendis Health since it listed and, while I was sceptical at first, I warmed to the company as I saw management executing their stated strategy. If you see here, I even use them as an example of how acquisitive growth can work: How…
EOH: The Cracks Appearing
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on July 28, 2017 It may sound like I am picking on EOH Holdings (EOH), but I am not. My job is to look critically at companies and, where appropriate, disagree with the consensus view. Even if this is uncomfortable and hurts peoples feelings, it is important that I do…
Master Drilling: Illustrating Value
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on March 22, 2018 I have written about Master Drilling (MDI) previously and I refer you back to these articles for some of the narrative: Master Drilling: Hidden Gem Master Drilling: The Big Mistake You will notice a consistent theme: I like them. The Group recently put out some soft…
Master Drilling: The Big Mistake
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on August 26, 2016 Previously I wrote the following article on Master Drilling (Master Drilling: Unknown Gem). I will not rewrite the investment case that I noted in that article for Master Drilling as a world-class, niche industrial technology play with global, growing scale and sophistication. Pretty much all of that…
Master Drilling: Hidden Gem
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on March 29, 2016 When I first encountered Master Drilling (MDI), I was mildly impressed and put them on the radar to follow closer. Over the subsequent three years, I began to become quite impressed with the business and its operations. Did you know that Master Drilling (run out South…
Santova: Growing & Undervalued
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on October 11, 2017 Santova (SNV) is a non-asset based supply chain manager with more than 65% of its earnings coming from outside of South Africa, including the majority of hard currency in this. Santova put out a H1:18 trading statement yesterday that can be summarised as follows: H1:18 EPS and…
Warning Signs: Retailers, Shopping Centres & Retail REITs (Part 2 of 2)
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on November 24, 2016 See Part 1 over here: Warning Signs: Retailers, Shopping Centres & Retail REITs (Part 1 of 2). There are three harmonious parts to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT): Income: These are predominantly rentals from tenant renting space from the REIT. The lower the vacancy rate…
Warning Signs: Retailers, Shopping Centres & Retail REITs (Part 1 of 2)
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on November 22, 2016 Following an exchange with Byron Lotter on Twitter (see here) after what I believe (and the market believes) was a very poor trading update from Woolies (WHL). But Woolies is not alone in this regard. Here are the key listed retailers, their like-for-like same-store growth, inflation…
Sabvest: Unique Opportunity
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on August 21, 2018 What makes for a good investment? Simple: (1) Quality underlying, (2) Growth / yield / return, & (3) Underpaying for all this. What makes a good investment fit into a diversified portfolio? Simple: (4) Being as little correlated to existing investments as possible. What makes all of…
Santova: Global But With a Domestic Rating…
OLD ARTICLE – Originally posted on December 4, 2019 Santova Logistics (SNV) has been a core holding in the ASM Fund since its inception due to its unique, capital-lite business model with global reach and the potential for a compounding network effect across its operations. In brief, Santova offers a fourth-party logistics (“4PL”) solution for clients….
Pan African Resources: The Cheapest Hole-in-the-Ground
OLD ARTICLE – Original posted on December 29, 2014 Firstly, I have no strong conviction on gold. I think that it is largely an ego-based commodity driven by investment fashions. In the short- to medium-term I suspect that the collapsing gold price has less to do with gold and more to do with the strengthening…
What Astoria’s Discount Should Be
OLD ARTICLE – Originally posted on April 5, 2016 Investment holding (IH) companies insert an extra layer of cost between the underlying assets and the ultimate investor. In theory, this layer of cost includes management which allocate capital like a fund manager, thus generating alpha with the IH company’s capital. The reality, though, is neither the structure…
Astral Foods: Quality With Converging Positives
OLD ARTICLE – Originally posted on February 4, 2020 As a well-run, ungeared domestic poultry stock, Astral Foods (code: ARL) has two major variables that largely dictate its fortunes: What cost must it pay to raise its chickens? What price can it sell its chicken products at? Firstly, Astral’s long-term track record is superb, proving…