In today’s briefing:
- Pasona: The Wrong Price
- ZEEKR IPO: The Bear Case
- IPower, Inc. – Solid Start to FY24; Demonstrates Several Avenues for Further Growth
- Ohba |(9765 Jp) – Making Steady Progress in Building up Technical Capabilities and Human Capital
Pasona: The Wrong Price
- As discussed here in a piece about the Partial Tender Offer, Pasona Group (2168) has agreed to sell its controlling stake in Benefit One (2412) to M3 (2413).
- That will leave Pasona Group with a fair chunk of cash and possibly a residual stake in Benefit One, depending on the results.
- Though we don’t know what the future holds, Pasona now is the wrong price for its future.
ZEEKR IPO: The Bear Case
- ZEEKR (ZK US), a premium Chinese BEV manufacturer and a subsidiary of Geely Auto (175 HK), has filed for a US$500 million IPO to list on the NYSE.
- In ZEEKR IPO: The Bull Case, we highlighted the key elements of the bull case. In this note, we outline the bear case.
- The bear case rests on growth slowdown in the second-largest business, high related-parties dependence, Virdi/CEVT gross margin pressure, ongoing operating losses and FCF burn.
IPower, Inc. – Solid Start to FY24; Demonstrates Several Avenues for Further Growth
- iPower reported $26.5 million in revenue in 1QFY24, its highest quarterly revenue ever, compared with $26.0 million in 1QFY23.
- The company’s performance was helped by business generated by its SuperSuite supply chain partnerships, currently on a $7 million annual run rate.
- The company’s TikTok Shop sales also contributed to the solid sales results.
Ohba |(9765 Jp) – Making Steady Progress in Building up Technical Capabilities and Human Capital
- Earnings Trends: 1Q FY24/5 results were solid, with steady sales and improved gross profit margins.
- Profit growth was limited owing to higher SG&A expenses in absolute terms stemming from hiring personnel, higher wages, and the inclusion of SG&A expenses of Ohba Research and Land Surveys.
- However, the company is likely to see more benefits from the steady accumulation of orders and continuous improvement in gross profit margin from 2Q onward, when it becomes easier to secure sales volume owing to the seasonality of its business.
💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma
Sign Up for Free
The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network
- ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
- ✓ Personalised Alerts
- ✓ Custom Watchlists
- ✓ Company Data and News
- ✓ Events & Webinars
