Consumer discretionary
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It’s only just begun
Ben MacNevin
December 19, 2014
For those hoping that 2014 will see the end of the mining downturn, the fallout may have only just begun.
A bellwether of the Perth market has released profit guidance that paints a very grim picture of economic conditions in the west. continue…
by Ben MacNevin Posted in Consumer discretionary, Insightful Insights.
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Is Woolies headed for a downgrade?
Roger Montgomery
December 18, 2014
The Sydney Morning Herald today reported, what appears to be shocking behaviour, by Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and suggests the company is really feeling the pressure at the moment. If the allegations reported by Fairfax are correct, one must wonder how the methods are any different to the stand-over tactics employed by the gangsters of the 50’s and 60’s. It certainly doesn’t seem to be the behaviour of responsible corporate citizens, rewarded with millions in salaries and bonuses. continue…
by Roger Montgomery Posted in Consumer discretionary, Insightful Insights.
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Are you spending more or less this Christmas?
Roger Montgomery
December 12, 2014
As you know we cannot predict where share prices are going next week, next month or next quarter. Valuing a business is simply not the same as predicting its price. What we do know however, is that over the long run, the price of a company’s shares will follow the economic performance of that business. ARB fell 40 per cent or more during the GFC, but its shares have increased almost four-fold over eleven or twelve years. It’s a similar story for CBA. Its shares also slumped during the GFC, but step back and the true picture of performance appears. Our estimate of CBA’s intrinsic value and the company’s share price have tripled over a decade. continue…
by Roger Montgomery Posted in Consumer discretionary, Insightful Insights.
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It’s not all doom & gloom in retail
Scott Shuttleworth
December 11, 2014
Upmarket furniture seller Nick Scali (ASX: NCK) had an excellent financial year in 2014 with its success seemingly continuing into FY15. I’ve made a few notes on their outlook, whilst reading through the Chairman & Managing Director’s 2014 AGM addresses, which you can read in full here. continue…
by Scott Shuttleworth Posted in Companies, Consumer discretionary, Value.able.
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Is it true: are we always better off with lower prices?
Roger Montgomery
December 6, 2014
Sadly, we live in a country where the overwhelming belief is that people are almost always better off with lower prices. It’s short-term ideology that fails to recognise the long-term damage suffered by Australian businesses when they simply cannot match the prices offered by better-resourced and more competitive foreign businesses. And it’s ideology again that suggests these businesses should be left to fail.
The result of course is that local businesses do go broke or are bought out by foreign businesses. And as we have seen with Ford and Holden, selling out to foreign enterprises does not secure jobs nor does it guarantee ongoing ‘investment’. We should think of this is we sell off our land, our farms and our infrastructure. continue…
by Roger Montgomery Posted in Consumer discretionary, Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Does a lower price mean the shares are cheap?
Russell Muldoon
December 5, 2014
Following on from our recent blog post here and our Head of Research, Tim Kelley’s video blog – on the changing supermarket industry landscape – we are naturally watching the developments in the sector closely (from the sidelines), taking a keen interest in the half year result reported this week by Metcash Limited (ASX:MTS).
To quickly summarise: their half year results showed continued deterioration to which the market has reacted accordingly, with their share price down circa 27 per cent since. continue…
by Russell Muldoon Posted in Companies, Consumer discretionary, Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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What’s Next for the Reject Shop?
Roger Montgomery
November 28, 2014
The Reject Shop (ASX: TRS) has previously presented as a compelling investment opportunity but the company has not been a holding of The Montgomery Fund for quite some time.
With the shares down nearly 60 per cent this financial year – an experience we are fortunate to have missed – some investors are asking whether it’s time to wade back in? It is important to keep in mind that a company’s shares are not cheap because the price has merely fallen. If the price falls but the intrinsic value falls even further, there may be no value to be found. continue…
by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Consumer discretionary, Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Is Aldi a real threat to Woolworths & Coles?
Russell Muldoon
November 26, 2014
In recent weeks you have probably noticed a dramatic increase in the volatility of Woolworths Limited (ASX:WOW) share price and wondered: what has changed recently? The answer is that something has caused the market to re-think the longer-term prospects of the business.
The detail is found in a very insightful conference call we had recently with the former head of Aldi UK, Paul Foley. continue…
by Russell Muldoon Posted in Companies, Consumer discretionary, Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Are China’s austerity measures starting to bite?
David Buckland
November 24, 2014
Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions account for the majority of Prada’s revenue, so it was no great surprise when Prada’s same store sales for the July 2014 half-year actually declined by 3 per cent on the previous year.
It is important to note that Chinese consumption accounts for nearly 30 per cent of global luxury goods, and around one-quarter of those purchases are made domestically and three-quarters are made when wealthy Chinese are abroad. The Chinese government’s anti-corruption and austerity measures will see pressure on the luxury goods market for the foreseeable future.
There will likely be a drag on Prada’s earnings from the planned store expansion (around 10 per cent or 60 stores) in the current financial year (to January 2015), the declining store productivity as well as the inventory build.
Another sector vulnerable to the aforementioned Chinese anti-corruption and austerity measures is gaming in Macau, and the October 2014 decline of 23 percent was the biggest year-on-year drop since the Macau government started issuing gaming revenue data in its current form in 2005.
by David Buckland Posted in Consumer discretionary, Insightful Insights, Investing Education, Value.able.
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What is happening in the retail sector?
Russell Muldoon
November 20, 2014
Asset prices are well-up on just a few years ago. No matter which way you cut the data, both the property and share markets have performed strongly. And so the economic theory goes: that if you feel wealthy, you’ll act wealthy and go out and spend. Exactly what a low interest rate envrionment – the one we are in now – is supposed to encourage.
But unlike past economic cycles, where the wealth effect has translated into the withdrawal of equity to be used on consumption of new furniture or a stereo for example, our listed retailers tell a different picture about the health of the Australian economy.
by Russell Muldoon Posted in Companies, Consumer discretionary, Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
