Daily Brief Financials: Macquarie Korea Infra Fund, Tokio Marine Holdings, NIFTY Index, Block , J Trust Co Ltd, Longfor Properties, S&U PLC, Aviva and more

• Macquarie Korea Infra Fund (088980 KS) announced that it is proceeding with a rights offering capital increase of 500 billion won, which represents about 9.4% of its current market cap. 
• MKIF plans to use higher liquidity increase in the following main areas: Seoul East Underground Expressway – 215 billion won Acquisition of Hanam Data Center – 423 billion won
• In the next 6-12 months, we believe MKIF has a solid chance of outperforming KOSPI (on combined capital gains/dividends basis). 

• Giant Japan insurer reports staggering June 2024 quarter YoY growth, not only from securities gains, but also strong delta in core premiums written
• Weak life insurance premiums is more than offset with well controlled costs, non-life premium income, investment income
• Acceleration of cross-shareholding disposals can keep income high, with AFS totaling JPY13.8 trillion with unrealized gains of JPY2.8 trillion

• IVs move higher in a controlled manner relative to U.S. markets. Combination of technical factors put a dampener on the Options Markets & IV turn lower by Week’s end.
• Many determining factors underwent changes in Vol-Regime Model  – but threshold to switch out of “High & Down” state not achieved.
• Smile & Skew characteristics blow out significantly on the open but settle at lower levels by week’s close.

• Block, Inc., the parent company to Block and Cash App, delivered robust results in the second quarter of 2024, reflecting strong growth in key business areas aligned with strategic initiatives.
• The company reported a gross profit of $2.23 billion, marking a 20% year-over-year increase.
• The Cash App segment notably outperformed, contributing a gross profit of $1.3 billion, up 23% year-over-year, thanks to the robust performance of the Cash App Card, Cash App Borrow, and Buy Now, Pay Later services.

• Operating revenue increased by JPY11.9bn YoY to JPY65.4bn (+22.2% YoY), driven by growth in financial and real estate businesses.
• Operating profit decreased by JPY7.5bn YoY to JPY2.1bn (-78.4% YoY), with significant declines in the Real Estate Business.
• Profit attributable to owners of parent decreased by 83.6% to JPY2.8bn, impacted by deferred tax liabilities reversal and forex gains.

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We assess Longfor Group’s ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its Environmental and Governance scores, while the Social score is “Strong”. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Adequate”. 

S&U’s H1 trading statement revealed similar trends to those in Q1. Advantage Finance remains in a consolidation phase amid industry discussions with the FCA on collections procedures and forbearance. The collection rate slipped slightly from 88% in Q1 to 87% for the half year. In contrast, Aspen Bridging continues to grow healthily with receivables up 13% since year-end, ‘excellent’ credit quality and a strong pipeline. Significantly, S&U describes the negotiations with the FCA as ‘nearing their conclusion’, which suggests there is potential for recovery at Advantage in H2. The latest 25bp base rate cut will also feed into H2 profitability as all debt is variable and unhedged. We maintain our estimates, which exclude any potential cost of redress, with more detail on the outlook likely to be disclosed at the half-year results on 8 October.

• Aviva plc is a United Kingdom-based insurance, wealth, and retirement business company.
• Its segments include UK & Ireland Insurance, General Insurance, and Aviva Investors, International investments, and Other Operations.

• Each fiscal year ending at December 31. | Year 2024: January to December 2024. | Year 2023: January to December 2023. | 6M 2024: January to June 2024