Roger Montgomery is the Founder and Chairman of Montgomery Investment Management. Roger has over three decades of experience in funds management and related activities, including equities analysis, equity and derivatives strategy, trading and stockbroking. Prior to establishing Montgomery, Roger held positions at Ord Minnett Jardine Fleming, BT (Australia) Limited and Merrill Lynch.
find out about investing with montgomery
Roger Montgomery discuss how Sustainable Competitive Advantage is the platform for exceptional company performance in this Money Magazine article published in May 2012. Read here.
In the May 2012 edition of the ASX Investor Update Email Newsletter, Roger Montgomery outlines his Value.able framework for successfully investing in the share market. Read here.
In the May 2012 issue of Money Magazine, Roger Montgomery discusses why companies with a high Return on Equity maintain long-term Competitive Advantages in the industries in which they operate. Read here.
Montgomery Investment Management would like to make the following important announcement.
Mr David Buckland will be joining Montgomery Investment Management as CEO shortly. David brings a wealth of experience to Montgomery including 11 years as CEO of ethical fund manager Hunter Hall. To view the announcement click on the image at left or click this link: Montgomery Press Release
Montgomery intends to continue to deepen and strengthen its management and investment teams to ensure that clients of the wholesale Montgomery [Private] Fund and its institutional mandates can always rely on impeccable service as we focus on continuing to achieve reliable outperformance.
To register your interest in Montgomery Investment Management or to apply to invest visit www.montinvest.com
Posted by Roger Montgomery, Value.able author, SkaffoldChairman and Fund Manager, 30 April 2012.
Harley takes his pen to My Net Fone and impresses even the company’s management with his results.
Take a look at any of the financial media channels or websites and you will likely notice the prevalence of brokers, advisors and commentators claiming that Australian stocks are currently cheap when viewed on a P/E basis. There is no denying that at the present time investors in the Australian stock market are willing to pay considerably less for the earnings of a company than they were just a few years ago. There are a number of possible explanations for this from the risk of external shocks to the increased demand for fixed income securities but there is no doubt that one of the main drivers of the lower market multiple is that investors are pricing in an expectation of lower growth rates in the majority of industries. The earnings of companies in retail, mining, property and construction just to name a few are all expected to experience low to moderate growth, if not stagnation, in the foreseeable future.
In an environment where opportunities for growth are sparse, when a true opportunity presents itself investors have demonstrated their willingness to pay up. There is no better example of this than the substantially higher industry average P/E in the telecommunications sector, where internet growth and new technological developments are driving rates of growth unrivaled elsewhere in the market. As a result investors have their eyes set on discovering the next rising star in the telecommunications world. My Net Fone Ltd may be about to have its turn in the limelight.
My Net Fone (ASX:MNF)
In the words of the company:
“My Net Fone Limited, (ASX:MNF) is Australia’s leading provider of hosted voice and data communications services for residential, business and enterprise users. My Net Fone was first founded in 2004, was listed on the ASX in mid 2006, has 52.5 million shares on issue, has operated profitably since 2009 and has paid dividends to its shareholders every six months since September 2010.
The company has a reputation for quality, value and innovation, having won numerous awards including the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 (2008, 2009, and 2010), PC User Product of the Year (2005), Money Magazine Product of the Year (2007) and many others.
My Net Fone’s wholly owned subsidiary, Symbio, owns and operates Australia’s largest VoIP network, providing wholesale carrier services to the Australian industry, including number porting, cloud‐based hosted PBX services, call termination, call origination and many other infrastructure enabled services. The Symbio network carries over 1.5 Billion minutes of voice per annum.”
What is VoIP? A Look At The Industry
Before looking closer at MNF, it is helpful to have a sound understanding of the industry in which the company operates. Indeed one should first gain a complete and comprehensive understanding of the injdustry and the competitive landscape.
VoIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocol, in its simplest form refers to the group of services that use the internet as a means for communication rather than the standard phone line. A phone call via VoIP involves the call conversation being split into data packets, transmitted over the internet and then reassembled at the other end. The primary benefit as a result is that there is no need for line rental, which provides significant savings to consumers and businesses alike. While cost reduction is generally seen as the most attractive feature of VoIP services the benefits are not limited solely to reduced expenses with a range of other products and services offered by MNF including Virtual PBX, number porting, SIP trunking and hosted services. While their terms may sound complicated they all fit under the catch all term of ‘VoIP.’
The VoIP market is highly competitive and the battle is generally fought over price. For a retail customer, the main reason you would choose VoIP over your traditional provider would of course be the cost savings that occur as a result. But for small and medium businesses, while cost is also of primary importance, other factors come into consideration including product offering, service quality and the ability of the provider to continually innovate and develop new products and services.
VoIP is not new nor is it only just now gaining popularity. If you have ever used Skype or a similar service, you have used VoIP (in fact Skype is a client of MNF’s wholesale division). But there are different VoIP service types and the kind you use when you Skype your family while away on holiday is very different to the kind you would install in your small to medium sized business of 50 full time employees. The two do not directly compete with each other. Sure, businesses may use Skype for video conferencing, but they will still need a communications system, multiple phone numbers, 1300 numbers, fax over IP, remote access to their VoIP number and a host of other services provided by MNF and their competitors. Customers of MNF have reported cost savings on phone bills of up to 50% and in the current business environment it seems likely that businesses will continue to look at ways to reduce costs while still maintaining or even increasing productivity. VoIP services have much to offer small to medium businesses in this regard.
In the early years of VoIP the main restriction was (and at times still is) the issue of low quality broadband. If the broadband connection was weak then the quality of the VoIP service would follow suit, thus making the adoption of VoIP unworthy of the investment for anyone without the highest quality broadband connection. It is no surprise then that in the case of Europe those countries with a high rate of strong broadband connection to homes and businesses (eg France) saw a higher uptake of VoIP than European countries with lower rates of high quality broadband access.
As broadband speeds improve, so too will the quality and available range of VoIP services in Australia. The roll out of the NBN will provide significant opportunities for MNF across all divisions of their business. As more people have access to fast, high quality broadband the potential market for MNF will grow. In the transition period there is likely to be a strong push for new customer acquisition by service providers as retail and business customers alike consider changing from their service type and/or service provider (See MNF’s current marketing program offering significant savings for customers to sign up prior to the roll out of the NBN). While this could result in greater competition in the business and retail markets, as we will see the wholesale division is well positioned to benefit from more service providers setting up shop creating higher demand for wholesale services.
Historic Performance – A Demonstrated Track Record Of Growth
Many investors require a demonstrated track record, which is seen as a way to further reduce the risk one takes in any given investment. As a result there are those who will take one look at the financial reports of MNF, notice the accumulated losses and be frightened away, preferring to wait until MNF has had a few years of strong returns, improving margins and profit growth under its belt. For some, turnaround stories are no go zones.
There is nothing wrong with this method of investing, in fact it can be incredibly successful (witness one W.E. Buffett) but in the case of MNF it is important to understand why the company experienced losses in its early years and why the profits are about to start rolling in.
First of all, MNF does possess a proven track record in regards to consistent revenue growth. MNF was started from scratch and has since grown to become a company that currently has 95000 subscribers. Any business owner will know that in the early years of operation profits can take time to come to fruition and a period of investment and cash outflows inevitably precedes growth in scale and subsequent cash inflows. In the case of MNF the company was operating in a brand new industry where the majority of individuals and businesses were still becoming aware of the potential for VoIP services, not to mention the fact that only the tech savvy had the necessary high speed broadband connection to make VoIP worthy of investment in the first place. In 2006, a year that VoIP uptake experienced rapid growth, 19 percent of small to medium businesses in Australia used VoIP services. But of those that didn’t, 35% were completely unaware it existed and another 7% did not understand how it could be implemented into their business.
Having said that the growth in revenues (shown in the table below) since MNF listed as a public company is very impressive.
^Provides general summary; figures are not broken down into individual or small to medium business customers
*Minus the contribution of the newly acquired Symbio Networks
Similarly impressive is the year on year growth in MNF’s total customer base, as shown both in the table above and below in a graphic from the company’s website.
Today consumer awareness regarding VoIP is strong and growing. The uptake amongst small and medium businesses is gaining considerable traction due to the significant cost savings and continually developing services on offer. While MNF’s subscriber growth rate is declining from its dizzying heights the company now has access to the potentially lucrative wholesale market through their acquisition of Symbio Networks. And to top things off the government is about to gift MNF with a once in a lifetime opportunity.
NBN – Opportunities Abound For MNF
As previously mentioned, in the past one of the restrictions holding back individuals and businesses from subscribing to VoIP based services was the lack of access to high quality broadband. While broadband penetration in Australia is not particularly low (we were ranked 21st out of OECD countries for fixed broadband penetration and 8th for wireless broadband penetration as at 30 June 2011) the roll out of the National Broadband Network (NBN) will only serve to increase the equality of access to high speed broadband across Australia. What this means is that MNF’s potential market will grow as the NBN roll out progresses.
The capability of MNF’s services are enhanced by any increase in computer power, software/hardware development or internet speeds. Furthermore since product innovation is a demonstrated strength of the company, as technology progresses the range of potential product and service offerings that MNF can deliver to their market will increase. Product and service innovation is a vital differentiating factor in any highly competitive market.
The NBN, in the company’s own words is “a once in a lifetime opportunity” for new customer acquisition as their is a mass transition from the current copper fibre network to the NBN. If the NBN achieves its objectives 93% of Australian households, schools and businesses will have access to broadband services. This will increase the up take potential for residential and SMB VoIP services significantly, and while MNF will likely have to deal with the arrival of many, many new competitors as a result of the expanding market, their wholesale division is likely to benefit from general growth of the VoIP market regardless of which service providers win market share.
(on the flip side, note the higher costs to all competitors/participants after the NBN rolls out and consider the implications of the NBN possibly becoming fibre to the node if Labour loses the next election)
The Importance Of Scale and Differentiation
As an investor it is certainly advantageous to focus on industries experiencing rapid growth. As they say, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats’ and to an extent this will be seen in the performance of internet and VoIP service providers for years to come as the tremendous growth rates are forecast to continue into the foreseeable future. But a market experiencing rapid growth breeds intense competition and if a company cannot differentiate itself from the pack it will be left to fight solely on the basis of being the lowest cost provider, which very rarely ends well for those involved.
There are two things that can separate a company from the pack and ensure it achieves financial performance above the industry average. The first is the presence of scale. MNF’s margins have historically been quite tight, but as revenue grows the margins will naturally improve. The VoIP service industry, while intensely competitive, is such that those who are able to achieve economies of scale have the potential to experience strong margin expansion as each incremental dollar of revenue generates a higher proportion of value to the bottom line. Symbio Networks, the wholesale division of MNF, currently operates at 50% utilisation leaving significant room for margins to be increased at little incremental cost to the company. So while revenue growth will likely taper off to more sustainable growth rates it is highly likely that NPAT growth will outpace revenue growth over the next few years.
In order to reach and sustain a level where economies of scale begin to benefit the bottom line, a company like MNF needs to be able to differentiate itself from competitors. There needs to be a reason why individuals and businesses will choose MNF over other VoIP providers if we, as investors, can be confident that the current high rates of return being generated by the company can be sustained.
The first differentiating factor relates to the vision of MNF management and their focus since the founding of the company. Unlike some of their larger competitors who are being forced to make the transition from older technologies and offer VoIP in addition to their current services, MNF is coming off a lower cost base and with sole focus on New Generation Networks and innovation within the VoIP market. Since the founding of MNF the goal has been “to be the leading VoIP provider in Australia.” The acquisition of the owner of the largest supplier of VoIP wholesale and managed services in Australia also helps separate MNF from the pack.
A quick read through MNF’s past annual reports will give you an idea of the demonstrated ability of the company to come up with new and innovative product offerings. In the past this has no doubt served to enhance the ability of MNF to grab market share, and is reflected in their many industry awards for exceptional products and services. As an investor your job is to determine whether or not MNF will be able to sustain the current high rates of return well in to the future. Start by researching the company’s product offering, read testimonials and compare it with those of MNF’s competitors. Sometimes the best way to form a view over the future of a company is not to approach things as an investor, but to view the business from the perspective of a potential customer.
Perhaps the most attractive feature of MNF’s business model and that which most effectively differentiates MNF from its competitors is the fact that the company is not simply a reseller of VoIP services. A large proportion of VoIP providers are in the business of buying from a wholesaler and reselling the product to the end consumer. Prior to the acquisition of Symbio, this is what it appeared as though MNF was doing when Symbio Networks was external but in actual fact the company was creating these voice services using Symbio’s VoIP technology, adding value through internally developed software and delivering a unique product offering to their customers. The company places a great deal of importance on the development of software and intellectual property to ensure they add value to the services they sell to customers. In the words of the CEO, Rene Sugo, “Today our advantage is largely technical – in terms of scalability, quality, reliability and innovative intellectual property. That is what has driven our growth, and will continue to do so in the medium term.”
Ultimately there is no negating the fact that for a company like MNF (where product development and technological advancement happens faster than most of us can fathom) we are heavily reliant on the competence of management.
The Founders – Interests aligned with shareholders
The two founders, Andy Fung and Rene Sugo, own just over 50% of the company between them. In the first quarter of this year Andy Fung retired from his position as CEO and Rene Sugo took his place. Fung is staying on as a non-executive director and retains his significant holding in the company. Both have strong backgrounds in the telecommunications industry, as well as experience and in depth knowledge in the area of Next Generation Networks. In the ever developing industry of VoIP service providers, experienced and business savvy management is integral to a company’s success.
There is more than just their significant shareholdings in the company that indicates management’s strong desire for MNF to succeed. In the early stages the directors performed services for the company at no or low cost and salaries were kept artificially low as the company dealt with the low capital base nature of a start up business. Similarly, the company was “supported by the low cost provision of services, technology and business support from Symbio Networks Pty Ltd during the start up and early growth phase of the business.” Andy Fung and Rene Sugo were the founders of Symbio Networks, and the company is now wholly owned by My Net Fone after the (related party?) acquisition was finalised earlier this year.
When MNF listed in 2006 they raised $2.5m. Unlike so many of the companies that list on the ASX these funds were not used to repay loans to related parties or to line the pockets of directors, but to fund an expanded marketing program and increase sales and support staff, which was no doubt a raging success evidenced by the growth in total customer numbers of those early years.
Management have also shown their ability to innovate and stay one step ahead of the market. They were the first to remove the pay-for-time model of pricing on international calls and pioneered the move to the now prevalent flat charge for international VoIP calls. The development of ‘On-the-Go’ services which allowed customers to access VoIP services on their mobile in 2007, ‘Meet-Me Conferencing’ in 2010 and the regularly introduced new service plans available to customers are all examples of MNF’s commitment to continually innovating their product offering.
In the process of conducting your research on MNF, do as Roger has suggested frequently here and read each financial report from the prospectus through to the most recent half yearly report. No doubt you will notice the trend of management promising something one year and delivering the next. This is, I believe, exactly what you should be looking for in the management of companies you choose to invest in. In the announcements regarding the Symbio acquisition, and in related articles, the CEO of MNF regularly described the increase in growth that he believed the company was about to experience. On the 23rd of April the company delivered yet again with a profit upgrade that they attributed to the “outstanding performance across the group,” particularly in the March quarter.
The interests of management appear strongly aligned with those of shareholders and as investors our money seems in more than capable hands. Do take the time to read the past annual reports of MNF. Not only will you better understand the growth path that management have in mind for the company but you will most certainly notice the way in which management come across as genuinely interested in the future of the company, its customers and its shareholders, something which is unfortunately rare in many ASX listed companies.
Symbio Networks – A Game Changer For My Net Fone
In September of last year MNF announced they were acquiring Symbio Networks for a maximum consideration of $6m. Symbio Networks is Australia’s largest supplier of VoIP wholesale and managed services. The company was founded by Andy Fung and Rene Sugo, the same founders of My Net Fone. The acquisition of Symbio significantly changes the dynamics of MNF as it means the company is now positioned to benefit from the entry of more VoIP providers.
Management plans to run Symbio as a wholly owned subsidiary, separate to the day to day business of My Net Fone. This is important as some of Symbio’s customers are direct competitors with the retail and business division of MNF. Symbio is actually larger than My Net Fone when comparing on the basis of revenues, with $25m of MNF’s FY12 revenue expected to come from Symbio.
The wholesale operations Symbio brings with it is a game changer for MNF. It means that the company is effectively diversified from the inevitable increase in competition that is sure to arise if and when VoIP uptake continues to grow. While the business and retail division benefits only if customers choose MNF over its competitors, Symbio, as the owner and operator of Australia’s largest VoIP network, is positioned to benefit from any overall increase in competition.
Because Symbio has clients across the Asia Pacific the company will not only benefit from the NBN in Australia, but are also positioned to do well from any further increase in broadband penetration or VoIP uptake in Singapore, New Zealand and Malaysia. As such the growth potential for Symbio, and thus MNF, is not limited solely to the Australian market.
The story of both Symbio Networks and My Net Fone are evidence of in my opinion, the visionary skills of the founders of both companies, Andy Fung and Rene Sugo. What we are seeing in the market today with increased uptake of VoIP, new VoIP related products and services being developed and the beginnings of the transition of VoIP to mobile applications, were all envisioned by Fung and Sugo as early as 2002. Today, Rene Sugo is the CEO of the merged entity and Andy Fung will remain as an advisor, consultant and significant shareholder. If their current views on the potential growth in the wholesale, retail and business divisions of their company is half as accurate as their views from ten years ago then it appears MNF is well positioned for the future.
Key Risks (may not be exhaustive)
While the prospects for MNF appear very attractive, like any investment there are risks one needs to consider:
The Financials
As outlined earlier MNF have grown revenues consistently since listing on the ASX. This year they are forecast to generate $41m in revenue, with $25m coming from the recently acquired Symbio Networks. In their recent earnings upgrade management forecast FY12 NPAT to come in between $2.75m and $3m, with FY13 NPAT guidance for $4m (Note: as a result of past losses the company has tax assets of $930k). If we assume the lower end of guidance then on a fully diluted basis MNF will earn around 5c per share in FY12. In the past the company has paid a dividend around half of the total earnings and with operating cash flows remaining strong there seems no reason why that will stop any time soon. Under these assumptions the company is currently trading on a PE of 7.5 and is paying a respectable dividend. What multiple should the market attribute to a company undergoing strong growth in earnings, paying a healthy dividend and operating in the rapidly expanding internet industry? That is anyone’s guess but there are numerous examples of similar companies currently trading on the ASX that the market has priced on a P/E multiple in the mid-teens, and there is no reason why MNF will not or should not be priced accordingly.
While the company appears to be cheap on a P/E multiple basis the most attractive feature of MNF’s financial performance for me, is its ability to continue to generate fantastic returns on incremental capital for many years to come. The current returns on equity are unsustainably stratospheric – a result of the accumulated losses on the balanced sheet. But even if we calculate return on equity with total contributed capital from shareholders, ignoring the reduction in equity that has resulted from accumulated losses, the company will still generate a return on equity in excess of 50% for FY12 and FY13. The nature of this business is such that provided success continues, high returns on equity can be sustained.
I believe the market is yet to factor in that MNF is now a significant player in the wholesale VoIP market and while its business and retail division will continue to face growing competition, the company has demonstrated its ability to differentiate itself from its competitors. With what seems like highly competent management, bright industry prospects and the ability to sustain current high rates of return My Net Fone currently appears to tick all of my value investing boxes.
Let Harley know what you think of his work and share your own insights. Please note the views of the author are his own and may not represent those of the publisher. It is a must that you conduct your own research and seek and take personal professional advice before undertaking any security transactions. The sources of data Harley relied upon to produce this post may or may not be accurate so readers must investigate and satisfy themselves that are are completely aware of and accept all risks before undertaking any securities transactions they conduct after they have sought advice from a licence adviser familiar with their needs and circumstances.
Authored by Harley and posted by Roger Montgomery, Value.able author, SkaffoldChairman and Fund Manager, 29 April 2012
In the Weekend Australian, Roger Montgomery discusses how a value investor uses the concept of intrinsic value to determine the attractiveness of investments. Read here.
The tumultuous French election result has cast doubt over the European bailout – what does Roger Montgomery think of the result? Read here.
What a difference a high Australian dollar (lots of people travelling and spending their money overseas and not here), a shift to online retailing, deflation, competitors going out of business, higher petrol prices and a more cautious consumer can make in the retail space in just nine months. And few companies are more exposed to all these influences than JB Hi-Fi.
Back in August 2011, the company reported the following in their annual report;
FY11 Sales $2.96b
FY11 NPAT $134.4m
FY11 NPAT Margin 4.5%
Based on these numbers as well as company guidance for sales growth in FY12 of 8% to $3.2b, the consensus analyst view at the time was for 11% FY12 NPAT growth to $150m.
Since that time however, shareholders have suffered three profit downgrades – in mid December, mid February and another this morning.
In this morning’s trading update, management have guided analysts to an estimated NPAT of $100-$105m on sales of $3.1b. Based on this latest announcement, 2012 numbers will look like this (assuming no further downgrades);
FY12 Sales $3.10b
FY12 NPAT $102.5m
FY12 NPAT Margin 3.3%
What’s clear from these numbers is that sales revenue is growing. No immediate issues there. And despite being below the initial 8% forecast, sales are now forecast to grow by 5%. The concern however is that LFL (like-for-like) sales are negative. For the nine months, sales of mature (older established stores) are down 1.3% which means without their current expansion plans, sales targets would not be met. It’s also the main reason their initial 8% sales growth target won’t be met.
But the main issue in forecasting what the business is worth is that despite this incremental sales growth, this is not CURRENTLY being converted to the bottom line. Based on management’s forecasts, NPAT margins will be 3.3% this year vs. 4.5% in the year prior, a 26.7% margin decline in just nine months. No businesses can increase intrinsic value in such an environment.
The tide that’s currently running against JBH is very strong, no plaudits for pointing that out. But when that tide turns, could JB Hi Fi be in an even better position than it was going into the non-resource-recession (a.k.a. the seven cylinder recession of 2012). There’s certainly the possibility and the key is working out when the economy turns and whether the structural changes occurring in retail are enough to adversely impact and offset the benefits of a cyclical turnaround.
Here’s what we are watching:
· Recently management including CEO Terry Smart and Chairman Patrick Elliot have been heavy sellers of their own personal holdings in JBH. What do they know? Why are they selling?
· The retail industry is experiencing a huge shake-up. Many retailers are doing it tough and many more are exciting the space. The Good Guys was being shopped around for a private sale recently with Blackstone rumoured to be the suitor. Later denied by them. Clive Peters (now owned by JBH) and WOW Sight and Sound have gone into receivership and JB’s largest competitor Dick Smith (owned by Woolies) is set to close 100 stores by 2014. Few electronic retailser are investing in growth. The night is darkest just before the dawn so we are looking for evidence that JB Hi Fi is capturing market share in such an environment, either by making acquisitions of distressed sub-scale business or by taking over leases in locations previously unavailable to them. In QLD it appears up to $250m in sales are up for grabs as competitors close. Dick Smiths had $1.5b in sales of which an optimistic analyst would say that JBH could pick up a substantial portion of.
· Currently electronic retailers are on the back foot evidenced by store closures and liquidation sales. These participants are forced sellers of excess stock putting HUGE downward pressure on retail prices and hence profit margins. In March alone, JBH experienced a 200 bps contraction in gross margins. I was silly enough to buy two C3-PO USB keys for my kids at Christmas for $40 each but picked up another two in Brisbane a few weeks ago for $18 at a closing down Dick Smiths (my new book will be called How to Go Broke Saving MoneyTM).
Margin compression of the magnitude reported recently is unprecedented for an operator of JBH’s buying power. So we are looking for signs that the worst is over in terms of competitors closing their doors, a sure sign margins will improve or cease falling precipitously.
· We are also watching closely JBH’s move into the online space. Growth has been excellent in this segment of the business (admittedly off a low base) with an average of 965,000 website visitors each week. That’s 50.2m views per annum – 2.4 times the population of Australia. The trick of course is to convert page views to sales.
· In prior years the business has benefited immensely from positive LFL sales and also an internally funded store-rollout strategy driving new sales and sales as stores matured. This was a tailwind for the business when the number of new stores being added divided by existing stores produced a high ratio. For example when the business only had 50 stores and another 15 were opened, the proportion of stores growing and adding to sales was 30%. At present the business has in excess of 150 stores and is opening 14-15 stores per annum – a ratio of just 10% in new growth. So when you have negative LFL sales in existing and maturing stores, this is a huge drag on business momentum. We are therefore watching for signs that LFL sales stabilise or turn positive so that the business gets its mojo back.
We think it can although we are convinced the very easy money from the store roll out stage of the business along with P/E expansion has been made. Businesses with a leading market position are able to survive traumatic periods in what is a highly cyclical business and are able to absorb the effects of margin compression. Provided they can capture high levels of market share amid the tumult and cement their position as the dominant player JBH might be well positioned for the next economic recovery. One might ask whether ‘Terry and Co’ will be there when that happens.
Skaffold.com Intrinsic Value 13 year chart.
Skaffold’s conservative valuation estimate for JBH is $13.43 for 2013 as can be seen by the thin orange line in the above chart. Whether the share price now approaches that valuation or that valuation instead is revised lower and approaches the price will be determined by whether the company can harness its opportunity and when the irrational pricing associated with collapsing competitors ends. Of course after that, its success will be dependent on the depth of the impact of the structural change represented by the retail shift global and online.
Amid all of your bearishness about housing in Australia, do you think retailing conditions will pick up for JBH and its peers or not? Can you buy goods that JBH sells cheaper online?
Posted by Roger Montgomery, Value.able author, SkaffoldChairman and Fund Manager, 27 April 2012.
Roger Montgomery speaks with Ross Greenwood on Radio 2GB regarding the current state-of-play for Australian airlines, how the global landscape is both pressuring our local players and will also shape their future – and why his in “Value.able” investing strategy highlights why Australian airline stocks are unlikely to represent strong growth investments for some time to come. Listen here.
One of the companies that is bound to suffer amid the western world’s slump in house prices, home starts and weak credit growth is Boral.
Today, Boral (BLD) cut their full year profit guidance by $22m after weak house activity and heavy rain in NSW and QLD have impacted their operations. BLD had forecast profit to be $150m-$175m and now expect $128m-$153m. Boral’s Mark Selway noted that Australia’s residential building sector is “aweful” and the construction and building materials company blamed continued wet weather and slow housing starts for cutting its profit forecast by the $22 million noted. In an interview with Dow Jones today Selways said; “The residential housing market looks tough and, by the way, I think it’s going to get a whole lot tougher,” and 2013 was likely to be “the tough year”.
Below: Skaffold.com estimated Intrinsic Value for Boral.
The consensus analysts estimates that produce Skaffold’s current intrinsic value estimate will now decline further as will the estimate of value itself. Since 2003 Boral’s estimated intrinsic value has been in decline as can be seen in the Skaffold Line Evaluate Screen. You should also note the hockey stick – like increase from analysts earnings optimism.
Over in the US the situation isn’t much better. After Warren Buffett noted his 2010/11 prediction of a bottom in housing “was dead wrong” one analyst said “March, housing starts, expected to print at 705K (which is crawling along the bottom as is, so it is all mostly noise anyway, but the algos care), came at a disappointing 654K, the lowest since October 2011, and a third consecutive decline since January. Want proof that the record warm Q1 pulled demand forward? This is it. As the chart below shows, the all important single-unit housing starts have not budged at all since June 2009. So was there any good news in today’s data? Well, housing permits, which means not even $1 dollar has been invested in actually ‘building’ a home soared to 747K, from 715K in February, and well above expectations of 710K – the highest since September 2008. That a permit is largley meaningless if unaccompanied by a start, not to mention an actual completion goes without saying.”
Total starts versus unit starts.
Apparently Harry S. Dent the author of various predictions of impending doom (and someone who’s rpredictions have been wrong as frequently as they have been right, is on Australia and said that we have a real estate bubble that is set to burst. He thinks there’ll be another worldwide economic downturn in 2012, and this will cause Australian real estate values to fall back to where they were 10 years ago.
“People in places like Sydney or Tokyo or Miami say, ‘Hey, real estate can never go down here, we’re a great place, everyone wants to move here, there’s not much land for development’, and what I say is that is exactly the kind of place that bubbles.” “Outside Hong Kong and Shanghai, Australia is the most expensive real estate market in the world compared to income.”
Thanks Harry! My own definition of a bubble is a debt fuelled asset purchasing binge where the income from the asset cannot pay for the interest on the debt that is funding it. Actually…that does sounds a whole lot like negative gearing????
Of course, some observers reckon the empty houses in Brisbane as sellers wait for prices to improve is a sign that the market is already crashing. Others suggest for a crash to happen home owners have to be willing to sell their property at that lower price. A lot of home owners are removing their property from the market if they can’t get the price they want. Whether the lower price gets a print or not however is not relevant. If my neighbour cannot sell his house for the price he wants, then the market price must be lower. We don’t need a transaction to occur to confirm it.
Gone are the days when the dream was to have one nice house with a Clark Pool, a BBQ and a new Holden in the carport. Now everyone wants to be a millionaire DIY developer and fixer-upper with his and hers BMW X5s. That simple progression leads to more volatility in the prices of assets those investors pursue. So what’s the impact on QBE and the banks now that Genworth have pulled their float? Would love to hear your thoughts, insights and observations. What are property prices doing in your area?
Posted by Roger Montgomery, Value.able author, SkaffoldChairman and Fund Manager, 20 April 2012.
