Consumer

In this briefing:

1. Last Week in GER Event-Driven Research: Myob, Rakuten, Delta, Graincorp and Hopewell Holding
2. Meituan Dianping (3690 HK): Lock-Up Expiry – Good 4Q18 Required
3. Omron into the Nikkei 225, Pioneer Out
4. M: Trimmed 2019-20E Earnings Forecast by 12% and 19%
5. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update

1. Last Week in GER Event-Driven Research: Myob, Rakuten, Delta, Graincorp and Hopewell Holding

In this version of the GER weekly EVENTS research wrap, we contend that investors should cash out on the MYOB Group Ltd (MYO AU) deal and assess the NAV discount potential for Rakuten Inc (4755 JP) post the IPO launch of Lyft Inc (0812823D US) – of which Rakuten has a 13% stake. Moreover, we dig into the deals for Delta Electronics Thai (DELTA TB) , Graincorp Ltd A (GNC AU) and Hopewell Holdings (54 HK)

More details can be found below. 

Best of luck for the new week – Rickin, Venkat and Arun

2. Meituan Dianping (3690 HK): Lock-Up Expiry – Good 4Q18 Required

Meituan Dianping (3690 HK)‘s shares currently trade 18% below its IPO price of HK$69.00 per share. Meituan will announce its 4Q18 results on Monday, 11 March 2019, after market close. Notably, Meituan’s six-month lock-up period expires on 19 March 2019.

3. Omron into the Nikkei 225, Pioneer Out

Friday 8 March after the close, the Nikkei announced that because the third party share sale of Pioneer Corp (6773 JP)  had been completed, it would be deleted from the Nikkei 225 Average (and the Nikkei 500 Index). Omron Corp (6645 JP) will replace Pioneer in the Nikkei 225 Average, with a deemed par value of 50 yen per share.

The date for this index deletion and inclusion event is the 15th of March, as per the schedule of the February 19th announcement as to how the Pioneer event would be treated. 

This affords special sits/events followers a couple of different events to look at. 

4. M: Trimmed 2019-20E Earnings Forecast by 12% and 19%

M had 4Q18 net profit of Bt606m (+11%YoY, -10%QoQ). The 2018 earnings was 10% lower than our forecast but in line with our expectation.

• Excluding impairment cost from employee benefit, 4Q18 core earnings grew 26.4%YoY to Bt690m. Meanwhile, gross margin remains flat at 68.3%, close to past four quarters level.
• The 2018 earnings increases 6% driven by gross profit margin expansion to 68.4% from 67.8% in 2017 and 4.3% growth in sales to Bt16bn due mainly to branches expansion and lower raw material costs respectively.
• We maintain our positive view toward its 2019-2020 outlook backed by SSSG recovery and branch expansion plan. However, we cut our 2019-20E earnings forecast by 12% and 19% respectively to factor in weak sales and margin than our previous expectation.

We maintain our BUY rating based on a new target price of Bt88 (27.4xPE’19) or down 8% from our previous target to follow earnings cut.

5. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update

We caught up with MINT and Bangkok Dec-Con today. Some highlights from the meeting:

• MINT has gained international presence following the acquisition of NH Hotels in Spain, but the first benefits is mainly coming from the top line side (34% revenue growth) rather than profit level at this stage. Having said that, NH itself has turned around significantly.
• Synergies expected through branding, loyalty programs, and cross-selling, though perhaps not all at once. 
• Leverage reduction. Much has already been achieved by asset revaluation, but the next step involves sales of some selected Tivoli assets and issuance of new warrants entailing a maximum dilution of 20%.
• Bangkok Dec-Con acquired a 40% stake in Phuket water concessionaire Gold Shores in December for Bt600m. A sizable diversification, eventhough they are really growing their profits like crazy in 2018.  

In this briefing:

1. Dabur IN
2. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy
3. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum
4. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…
5. Sea Ltd (SE US): The Bear Case – A One-Hit Wonder?

1. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

2. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy

Yesterday, NIO Inc (NIO US)’s share tumbled 20% on the back of poor 1Q19 guidance. NIO warned that deliveries of ES8, its electric SUV, have been sluggish so far in 2019 and scrapped plans to build its Shanghai Manufacturing Plant. NIO blamed the slump on uncertainty over government subsidies for electric vehicles, China’s slowing economy and disruption caused by the Chinese New Year holidays.

3. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ)‘s FY18 results call was an interesting combination of kitchen sinking, a cautious outlook, combined with some more optimistic strategies on specialty stores with new brands and smaller format stores for regional expansion. The big question is whether these strategies will win out or will the company continue to underwhelm on its growth prospects? 

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) remains a market leader in its space with 159 departments stores across Indonesia selling affordable fashion to the middle classes but it has underwhelmed on a few occasions on its growth and guidance. It is reducing its dividend payout to facilitate the build-out of specialty stores with new brands on board. 

Valuations do now look interesting with the company trading on 6.0x FY19E PER and 5.4x FY20E PER. It generates a forecast ROE of 70% and ROE of 30%, which is extremely high for a retailer. The question is how much analysts will downgrade and whether investors will look through its Lippo connection. After another 9% fall in the share price today after 22% yesterday, a lot does seem to have been factored in already.

4. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…

Accordia Golf Trust (AGT SP) is the second largest golf course operator in Japan that offers stable DPU with assets that are less correlated to the global economic cycle but they have their own challenges; aging demographics that makes the number of games played lower over time, volatile weather in Japan (unlike in Singapore where it’s sunny summer all year long), limited upside impact from automation initiative and golf tax. 

5. Sea Ltd (SE US): The Bear Case – A One-Hit Wonder?

Despite burning through $700mn in cash in 2018, investors decided to give another $1.3bn to Sea Ltd (SE US) . We believe investors should treat Sea Ltd with caution for the following reasons:

A significant slowdown in e-commerce

Is the gaming division a one-hit wonder?

Expecting another 800mn cash burn into 2019

Consensus has priced in further upgrades while cash flow metrics worst in the sector

NB. Our team has taken both sides of the Sea Ltd investment case as we think this makes for better decision making and encourages unique thinking within our team. We strongly recommend that investors read my colleague Arun’s positive notes on the company listed below, if you have not already done so.

Sea Ltd (SE US): Placing Price Leaves Money on the Table

Sea Ltd (SE US): Placement a Good Opportunity to Enter an Attractive Story

In this briefing:

1. Meituan Dianping (3690 HK): Lock-Up Expiry – Good 4Q18 Required
2. Omron into the Nikkei 225, Pioneer Out
3. M: Trimmed 2019-20E Earnings Forecast by 12% and 19%
4. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update
5. Dabur IN

1. Meituan Dianping (3690 HK): Lock-Up Expiry – Good 4Q18 Required

Meituan Dianping (3690 HK)‘s shares currently trade 18% below its IPO price of HK$69.00 per share. Meituan will announce its 4Q18 results on Monday, 11 March 2019, after market close. Notably, Meituan’s six-month lock-up period expires on 19 March 2019.

2. Omron into the Nikkei 225, Pioneer Out

Friday 8 March after the close, the Nikkei announced that because the third party share sale of Pioneer Corp (6773 JP)  had been completed, it would be deleted from the Nikkei 225 Average (and the Nikkei 500 Index). Omron Corp (6645 JP) will replace Pioneer in the Nikkei 225 Average, with a deemed par value of 50 yen per share.

The date for this index deletion and inclusion event is the 15th of March, as per the schedule of the February 19th announcement as to how the Pioneer event would be treated. 

This affords special sits/events followers a couple of different events to look at. 

3. M: Trimmed 2019-20E Earnings Forecast by 12% and 19%

M had 4Q18 net profit of Bt606m (+11%YoY, -10%QoQ). The 2018 earnings was 10% lower than our forecast but in line with our expectation.

• Excluding impairment cost from employee benefit, 4Q18 core earnings grew 26.4%YoY to Bt690m. Meanwhile, gross margin remains flat at 68.3%, close to past four quarters level.
• The 2018 earnings increases 6% driven by gross profit margin expansion to 68.4% from 67.8% in 2017 and 4.3% growth in sales to Bt16bn due mainly to branches expansion and lower raw material costs respectively.
• We maintain our positive view toward its 2019-2020 outlook backed by SSSG recovery and branch expansion plan. However, we cut our 2019-20E earnings forecast by 12% and 19% respectively to factor in weak sales and margin than our previous expectation.

We maintain our BUY rating based on a new target price of Bt88 (27.4xPE’19) or down 8% from our previous target to follow earnings cut.

4. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update

We caught up with MINT and Bangkok Dec-Con today. Some highlights from the meeting:

• MINT has gained international presence following the acquisition of NH Hotels in Spain, but the first benefits is mainly coming from the top line side (34% revenue growth) rather than profit level at this stage. Having said that, NH itself has turned around significantly.
• Synergies expected through branding, loyalty programs, and cross-selling, though perhaps not all at once. 
• Leverage reduction. Much has already been achieved by asset revaluation, but the next step involves sales of some selected Tivoli assets and issuance of new warrants entailing a maximum dilution of 20%.
• Bangkok Dec-Con acquired a 40% stake in Phuket water concessionaire Gold Shores in December for Bt600m. A sizable diversification, eventhough they are really growing their profits like crazy in 2018.  

5. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this summary insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

A Detailed Insight that includes our detailed arguments and financial forecasts can be found elsewhere here on Smartkarma using the company’s ticker.

In this briefing:

1. Omron into the Nikkei 225, Pioneer Out
2. M: Trimmed 2019-20E Earnings Forecast by 12% and 19%
3. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update
4. Dabur IN
5. Dabur IN

1. Omron into the Nikkei 225, Pioneer Out

Friday 8 March after the close, the Nikkei announced that because the third party share sale of Pioneer Corp (6773 JP)  had been completed, it would be deleted from the Nikkei 225 Average (and the Nikkei 500 Index). Omron Corp (6645 JP) will replace Pioneer in the Nikkei 225 Average, with a deemed par value of 50 yen per share.

The date for this index deletion and inclusion event is the 15th of March, as per the schedule of the February 19th announcement as to how the Pioneer event would be treated. 

This affords special sits/events followers a couple of different events to look at. 

2. M: Trimmed 2019-20E Earnings Forecast by 12% and 19%

M had 4Q18 net profit of Bt606m (+11%YoY, -10%QoQ). The 2018 earnings was 10% lower than our forecast but in line with our expectation.

• Excluding impairment cost from employee benefit, 4Q18 core earnings grew 26.4%YoY to Bt690m. Meanwhile, gross margin remains flat at 68.3%, close to past four quarters level.
• The 2018 earnings increases 6% driven by gross profit margin expansion to 68.4% from 67.8% in 2017 and 4.3% growth in sales to Bt16bn due mainly to branches expansion and lower raw material costs respectively.
• We maintain our positive view toward its 2019-2020 outlook backed by SSSG recovery and branch expansion plan. However, we cut our 2019-20E earnings forecast by 12% and 19% respectively to factor in weak sales and margin than our previous expectation.

We maintain our BUY rating based on a new target price of Bt88 (27.4xPE’19) or down 8% from our previous target to follow earnings cut.

3. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update

We caught up with MINT and Bangkok Dec-Con today. Some highlights from the meeting:

• MINT has gained international presence following the acquisition of NH Hotels in Spain, but the first benefits is mainly coming from the top line side (34% revenue growth) rather than profit level at this stage. Having said that, NH itself has turned around significantly.
• Synergies expected through branding, loyalty programs, and cross-selling, though perhaps not all at once. 
• Leverage reduction. Much has already been achieved by asset revaluation, but the next step involves sales of some selected Tivoli assets and issuance of new warrants entailing a maximum dilution of 20%.
• Bangkok Dec-Con acquired a 40% stake in Phuket water concessionaire Gold Shores in December for Bt600m. A sizable diversification, eventhough they are really growing their profits like crazy in 2018.  

4. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this summary insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

A Detailed Insight that includes our detailed arguments and financial forecasts can be found elsewhere here on Smartkarma using the company’s ticker.

5. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

In this briefing:

1. M: Trimmed 2019-20E Earnings Forecast by 12% and 19%
2. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update
3. Dabur IN
4. Dabur IN
5. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy

1. M: Trimmed 2019-20E Earnings Forecast by 12% and 19%

M had 4Q18 net profit of Bt606m (+11%YoY, -10%QoQ). The 2018 earnings was 10% lower than our forecast but in line with our expectation.

• Excluding impairment cost from employee benefit, 4Q18 core earnings grew 26.4%YoY to Bt690m. Meanwhile, gross margin remains flat at 68.3%, close to past four quarters level.
• The 2018 earnings increases 6% driven by gross profit margin expansion to 68.4% from 67.8% in 2017 and 4.3% growth in sales to Bt16bn due mainly to branches expansion and lower raw material costs respectively.
• We maintain our positive view toward its 2019-2020 outlook backed by SSSG recovery and branch expansion plan. However, we cut our 2019-20E earnings forecast by 12% and 19% respectively to factor in weak sales and margin than our previous expectation.

We maintain our BUY rating based on a new target price of Bt88 (27.4xPE’19) or down 8% from our previous target to follow earnings cut.

2. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update

We caught up with MINT and Bangkok Dec-Con today. Some highlights from the meeting:

• MINT has gained international presence following the acquisition of NH Hotels in Spain, but the first benefits is mainly coming from the top line side (34% revenue growth) rather than profit level at this stage. Having said that, NH itself has turned around significantly.
• Synergies expected through branding, loyalty programs, and cross-selling, though perhaps not all at once. 
• Leverage reduction. Much has already been achieved by asset revaluation, but the next step involves sales of some selected Tivoli assets and issuance of new warrants entailing a maximum dilution of 20%.
• Bangkok Dec-Con acquired a 40% stake in Phuket water concessionaire Gold Shores in December for Bt600m. A sizable diversification, eventhough they are really growing their profits like crazy in 2018.  

3. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this summary insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

A Detailed Insight that includes our detailed arguments and financial forecasts can be found elsewhere here on Smartkarma using the company’s ticker.

4. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

5. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy

Yesterday, NIO Inc (NIO US)’s share tumbled 20% on the back of poor 1Q19 guidance. NIO warned that deliveries of ES8, its electric SUV, have been sluggish so far in 2019 and scrapped plans to build its Shanghai Manufacturing Plant. NIO blamed the slump on uncertainty over government subsidies for electric vehicles, China’s slowing economy and disruption caused by the Chinese New Year holidays.

In this briefing:

1. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update
2. Dabur IN
3. Dabur IN
4. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy
5. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum

1. MINT’s First Post-Acquisition Update

We caught up with MINT and Bangkok Dec-Con today. Some highlights from the meeting:

• MINT has gained international presence following the acquisition of NH Hotels in Spain, but the first benefits is mainly coming from the top line side (34% revenue growth) rather than profit level at this stage. Having said that, NH itself has turned around significantly.
• Synergies expected through branding, loyalty programs, and cross-selling, though perhaps not all at once. 
• Leverage reduction. Much has already been achieved by asset revaluation, but the next step involves sales of some selected Tivoli assets and issuance of new warrants entailing a maximum dilution of 20%.
• Bangkok Dec-Con acquired a 40% stake in Phuket water concessionaire Gold Shores in December for Bt600m. A sizable diversification, eventhough they are really growing their profits like crazy in 2018.  

2. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this summary insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

A Detailed Insight that includes our detailed arguments and financial forecasts can be found elsewhere here on Smartkarma using the company’s ticker.

3. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

4. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy

Yesterday, NIO Inc (NIO US)’s share tumbled 20% on the back of poor 1Q19 guidance. NIO warned that deliveries of ES8, its electric SUV, have been sluggish so far in 2019 and scrapped plans to build its Shanghai Manufacturing Plant. NIO blamed the slump on uncertainty over government subsidies for electric vehicles, China’s slowing economy and disruption caused by the Chinese New Year holidays.

5. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ)‘s FY18 results call was an interesting combination of kitchen sinking, a cautious outlook, combined with some more optimistic strategies on specialty stores with new brands and smaller format stores for regional expansion. The big question is whether these strategies will win out or will the company continue to underwhelm on its growth prospects? 

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) remains a market leader in its space with 159 departments stores across Indonesia selling affordable fashion to the middle classes but it has underwhelmed on a few occasions on its growth and guidance. It is reducing its dividend payout to facilitate the build-out of specialty stores with new brands on board. 

Valuations do now look interesting with the company trading on 6.0x FY19E PER and 5.4x FY20E PER. It generates a forecast ROE of 70% and ROE of 30%, which is extremely high for a retailer. The question is how much analysts will downgrade and whether investors will look through its Lippo connection. After another 9% fall in the share price today after 22% yesterday, a lot does seem to have been factored in already.

In this briefing:

1. Dabur IN
2. Dabur IN
3. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy
4. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum
5. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…

1. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this summary insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

A Detailed Insight that includes our detailed arguments and financial forecasts can be found elsewhere here on Smartkarma using the company’s ticker.

2. Dabur IN

Either Dabur India Ltd (DABUR IN) should change the crystal ball or those responsible for gazing at it. Going by its trajectory of strategies in the recent past, the narrative that emerges is that of confusion. Confusion has been a constant about whom Dabur perceived its competitors, its perception of the market while the disruptors reigned and what is and what should be its core strengths.

In this insight, we find Dabur heading to hibernation in summers. We believe this confused state of mind at Dabur will lead to lower than expected growth rates and an impact on margins. Our arguments are based on in-depth analysis of over 3 years of conference calls, past 5 year financial statements, competitors balance sheets and primary research covering different parts of the country. Our base case FY 21 EPS is 21% lower than consensus estimates and a potential aggressive case EPS is 26% lower than consensus. We argue for a 35x forward multiple giving us a target price of INR 322 for the base case and an aggressive case target price of INR 305 indicating a potential 26% & 30% downside from the latest close price of INR 437.

3. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy

Yesterday, NIO Inc (NIO US)’s share tumbled 20% on the back of poor 1Q19 guidance. NIO warned that deliveries of ES8, its electric SUV, have been sluggish so far in 2019 and scrapped plans to build its Shanghai Manufacturing Plant. NIO blamed the slump on uncertainty over government subsidies for electric vehicles, China’s slowing economy and disruption caused by the Chinese New Year holidays.

4. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ)‘s FY18 results call was an interesting combination of kitchen sinking, a cautious outlook, combined with some more optimistic strategies on specialty stores with new brands and smaller format stores for regional expansion. The big question is whether these strategies will win out or will the company continue to underwhelm on its growth prospects? 

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) remains a market leader in its space with 159 departments stores across Indonesia selling affordable fashion to the middle classes but it has underwhelmed on a few occasions on its growth and guidance. It is reducing its dividend payout to facilitate the build-out of specialty stores with new brands on board. 

Valuations do now look interesting with the company trading on 6.0x FY19E PER and 5.4x FY20E PER. It generates a forecast ROE of 70% and ROE of 30%, which is extremely high for a retailer. The question is how much analysts will downgrade and whether investors will look through its Lippo connection. After another 9% fall in the share price today after 22% yesterday, a lot does seem to have been factored in already.

5. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…

Accordia Golf Trust (AGT SP) is the second largest golf course operator in Japan that offers stable DPU with assets that are less correlated to the global economic cycle but they have their own challenges; aging demographics that makes the number of games played lower over time, volatile weather in Japan (unlike in Singapore where it’s sunny summer all year long), limited upside impact from automation initiative and golf tax. 

In this briefing:

1. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy
2. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum
3. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…
4. Sea Ltd (SE US): The Bear Case – A One-Hit Wonder?
5. Meituan Dianping (美团点评): Thoughts Before Lock-Up Expiry

1. NIO (NIO US): Lock-Up Expiry – This Could Get Messy

Yesterday, NIO Inc (NIO US)’s share tumbled 20% on the back of poor 1Q19 guidance. NIO warned that deliveries of ES8, its electric SUV, have been sluggish so far in 2019 and scrapped plans to build its Shanghai Manufacturing Plant. NIO blamed the slump on uncertainty over government subsidies for electric vehicles, China’s slowing economy and disruption caused by the Chinese New Year holidays.

2. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ)‘s FY18 results call was an interesting combination of kitchen sinking, a cautious outlook, combined with some more optimistic strategies on specialty stores with new brands and smaller format stores for regional expansion. The big question is whether these strategies will win out or will the company continue to underwhelm on its growth prospects? 

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) remains a market leader in its space with 159 departments stores across Indonesia selling affordable fashion to the middle classes but it has underwhelmed on a few occasions on its growth and guidance. It is reducing its dividend payout to facilitate the build-out of specialty stores with new brands on board. 

Valuations do now look interesting with the company trading on 6.0x FY19E PER and 5.4x FY20E PER. It generates a forecast ROE of 70% and ROE of 30%, which is extremely high for a retailer. The question is how much analysts will downgrade and whether investors will look through its Lippo connection. After another 9% fall in the share price today after 22% yesterday, a lot does seem to have been factored in already.

3. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…

Accordia Golf Trust (AGT SP) is the second largest golf course operator in Japan that offers stable DPU with assets that are less correlated to the global economic cycle but they have their own challenges; aging demographics that makes the number of games played lower over time, volatile weather in Japan (unlike in Singapore where it’s sunny summer all year long), limited upside impact from automation initiative and golf tax. 

4. Sea Ltd (SE US): The Bear Case – A One-Hit Wonder?

Despite burning through $700mn in cash in 2018, investors decided to give another $1.3bn to Sea Ltd (SE US) . We believe investors should treat Sea Ltd with caution for the following reasons:

A significant slowdown in e-commerce

Is the gaming division a one-hit wonder?

Expecting another 800mn cash burn into 2019

Consensus has priced in further upgrades while cash flow metrics worst in the sector

NB. Our team has taken both sides of the Sea Ltd investment case as we think this makes for better decision making and encourages unique thinking within our team. We strongly recommend that investors read my colleague Arun’s positive notes on the company listed below, if you have not already done so.

Sea Ltd (SE US): Placing Price Leaves Money on the Table

Sea Ltd (SE US): Placement a Good Opportunity to Enter an Attractive Story

5. Meituan Dianping (美团点评): Thoughts Before Lock-Up Expiry

Meituan Dianping, the largest O2O platform in China, was listed on September 20th last year and lock-up expiry will be on March 20th. The stock has returned -13% since listing. 

• As it heads into lock-up expiry on March 20th, we will examine Meituan Dianping shareholder structure and potential shares up for sale.
• Meituan was included by MSCI recently and will be eligible for the Hong Kong Connect soon thanks to rule amendment.
• The company delivered a decent topline growth in 3Q2018 but its profit fell short of expectation. We highlight potentials from the food supply chain solution. We also discuss implication from MoBike acquisition.
• We review our SOTP valuation of Meituan and believe there is an upside. 

In this briefing:

1. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum
2. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…
3. Sea Ltd (SE US): The Bear Case – A One-Hit Wonder?
4. Meituan Dianping (美团点评): Thoughts Before Lock-Up Expiry
5. NIO’s (蔚来) Guidance Makes Selling upon Lock-Expiry More Compelling

1. Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – A Retail Conundrum

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ)‘s FY18 results call was an interesting combination of kitchen sinking, a cautious outlook, combined with some more optimistic strategies on specialty stores with new brands and smaller format stores for regional expansion. The big question is whether these strategies will win out or will the company continue to underwhelm on its growth prospects? 

Pt Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) remains a market leader in its space with 159 departments stores across Indonesia selling affordable fashion to the middle classes but it has underwhelmed on a few occasions on its growth and guidance. It is reducing its dividend payout to facilitate the build-out of specialty stores with new brands on board. 

Valuations do now look interesting with the company trading on 6.0x FY19E PER and 5.4x FY20E PER. It generates a forecast ROE of 70% and ROE of 30%, which is extremely high for a retailer. The question is how much analysts will downgrade and whether investors will look through its Lippo connection. After another 9% fall in the share price today after 22% yesterday, a lot does seem to have been factored in already.

2. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…

Accordia Golf Trust (AGT SP) is the second largest golf course operator in Japan that offers stable DPU with assets that are less correlated to the global economic cycle but they have their own challenges; aging demographics that makes the number of games played lower over time, volatile weather in Japan (unlike in Singapore where it’s sunny summer all year long), limited upside impact from automation initiative and golf tax. 

3. Sea Ltd (SE US): The Bear Case – A One-Hit Wonder?

Despite burning through $700mn in cash in 2018, investors decided to give another $1.3bn to Sea Ltd (SE US) . We believe investors should treat Sea Ltd with caution for the following reasons:

A significant slowdown in e-commerce

Is the gaming division a one-hit wonder?

Expecting another 800mn cash burn into 2019

Consensus has priced in further upgrades while cash flow metrics worst in the sector

NB. Our team has taken both sides of the Sea Ltd investment case as we think this makes for better decision making and encourages unique thinking within our team. We strongly recommend that investors read my colleague Arun’s positive notes on the company listed below, if you have not already done so.

Sea Ltd (SE US): Placing Price Leaves Money on the Table

Sea Ltd (SE US): Placement a Good Opportunity to Enter an Attractive Story

4. Meituan Dianping (美团点评): Thoughts Before Lock-Up Expiry

Meituan Dianping, the largest O2O platform in China, was listed on September 20th last year and lock-up expiry will be on March 20th. The stock has returned -13% since listing. 

• As it heads into lock-up expiry on March 20th, we will examine Meituan Dianping shareholder structure and potential shares up for sale.
• Meituan was included by MSCI recently and will be eligible for the Hong Kong Connect soon thanks to rule amendment.
• The company delivered a decent topline growth in 3Q2018 but its profit fell short of expectation. We highlight potentials from the food supply chain solution. We also discuss implication from MoBike acquisition.
• We review our SOTP valuation of Meituan and believe there is an upside. 

5. NIO’s (蔚来) Guidance Makes Selling upon Lock-Expiry More Compelling

NIO Inc (NIO US) fell 17% in its after-hour trading session post announcement of its Q4 results.  The company turned a gross profit in Q4 while the number of cars delivered in the full year 2018 was 11,348 has beaten their own 10,000 cars target. The company is currently trading 62% above its IPO price.

However, the worrying part lies in its guidance which could mean that pre-IPO investors have more compelling reasons to lock-in some profits upon lock-up expiry.

In this briefing:

1. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…
2. Sea Ltd (SE US): The Bear Case – A One-Hit Wonder?
3. Meituan Dianping (美团点评): Thoughts Before Lock-Up Expiry
4. NIO’s (蔚来) Guidance Makes Selling upon Lock-Expiry More Compelling
5. Youngone Holdco/Sub Trade: Price Divergence Got Too Wide

1. Accordia Golf Trust (AGT): Buy but Please Consider This…

Accordia Golf Trust (AGT SP) is the second largest golf course operator in Japan that offers stable DPU with assets that are less correlated to the global economic cycle but they have their own challenges; aging demographics that makes the number of games played lower over time, volatile weather in Japan (unlike in Singapore where it’s sunny summer all year long), limited upside impact from automation initiative and golf tax. 

2. Sea Ltd (SE US): The Bear Case – A One-Hit Wonder?

Despite burning through $700mn in cash in 2018, investors decided to give another $1.3bn to Sea Ltd (SE US) . We believe investors should treat Sea Ltd with caution for the following reasons:

A significant slowdown in e-commerce

Is the gaming division a one-hit wonder?

Expecting another 800mn cash burn into 2019

Consensus has priced in further upgrades while cash flow metrics worst in the sector

NB. Our team has taken both sides of the Sea Ltd investment case as we think this makes for better decision making and encourages unique thinking within our team. We strongly recommend that investors read my colleague Arun’s positive notes on the company listed below, if you have not already done so.

Sea Ltd (SE US): Placing Price Leaves Money on the Table

Sea Ltd (SE US): Placement a Good Opportunity to Enter an Attractive Story

3. Meituan Dianping (美团点评): Thoughts Before Lock-Up Expiry

Meituan Dianping, the largest O2O platform in China, was listed on September 20th last year and lock-up expiry will be on March 20th. The stock has returned -13% since listing. 

• As it heads into lock-up expiry on March 20th, we will examine Meituan Dianping shareholder structure and potential shares up for sale.
• Meituan was included by MSCI recently and will be eligible for the Hong Kong Connect soon thanks to rule amendment.
• The company delivered a decent topline growth in 3Q2018 but its profit fell short of expectation. We highlight potentials from the food supply chain solution. We also discuss implication from MoBike acquisition.
• We review our SOTP valuation of Meituan and believe there is an upside. 

4. NIO’s (蔚来) Guidance Makes Selling upon Lock-Expiry More Compelling

NIO Inc (NIO US) fell 17% in its after-hour trading session post announcement of its Q4 results.  The company turned a gross profit in Q4 while the number of cars delivered in the full year 2018 was 11,348 has beaten their own 10,000 cars target. The company is currently trading 62% above its IPO price.

However, the worrying part lies in its guidance which could mean that pre-IPO investors have more compelling reasons to lock-in some profits upon lock-up expiry.

5. Youngone Holdco/Sub Trade: Price Divergence Got Too Wide

• Youngone Holdings (009970 KS) is another single-sub holdco. Youngone Corp (111770 KS) is the largest sub that accounts for 70% of Holdco NAV. Youngone is one of Korea’s two largest OEM apparel manufacturers. On a 20D MA, they are now at 312% of σ. Current price ratio is at a 120D high. Holdco discount is 27.5% to NAV.
• I am not seeing any substantial factor that can explain this much price divergence in the last two days. There is a growing concern over Sub’s labor cost. This may explain Sub’s price plunge. But this isn’t enough to explain the current huge price divergence.
• In the last 120 days, we’ve had a couple of radical divergences. All of these got quickly reverted to mean. I expect the same to happen this time. At this much divergence, there is a little chance of further widening. I’d go short Holdco and long Sub. Just, Holdco liquidity can be an issue here.