In today’s briefing:
- Benesse (9783) – Through Terms But Maybe Not Enough To Threaten Bump as TOB Launch Approaches
- Money Forward (3994) | Best Quarter Ever
- 2Q Follow-Up – Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings Corporation (9405 JP)
- EQD | Nikkei 225 WEEKLY Lift Off: Can It Go Higher?
- Honda Motor Co.: Wage Hike Considerations & Global Economic Context – Major Drivers
- Sony Group Corporation: Revolutionizing Content Production With NTT Collaboration – Major Drivers
Benesse (9783) – Through Terms But Maybe Not Enough To Threaten Bump as TOB Launch Approaches
- When the announcement for an MBO for Benesse Holdings (9783 JP) was made in November, they suggested it would take 3 months for approvals to launch. SAMR announced approval Wednesday.
- Japan approval should be (or have been) easy. One might expect this deal to launch prior to “early February”. The stock is trading through terms…. but…
- A reminder that this stock is TOO CHEAP. Bad management means low expectations means a decent premium still ends up at too low a price vs management’s own forecasts.
Money Forward (3994) | Best Quarter Ever
- Results flash: Q4 sales +42%; Adjusted EBITDA at record high of 1.2 billion yen
- Key focus remains Business SaaS where sales rose +52% YoY to 5.5 billion
- Business earnings driven by acquisition of medium-sized corporates (+40% YoY) and higher ARPU (+22% YoY)
2Q Follow-Up – Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings Corporation (9405 JP)
- 1H headline numbers were net sales +1.6% YoY, operating expenses +4.8% YoY, with OP turning to loss from ¥293mn → (¥992mn).
- As can be seen from the table on P2, net sales increased by ¥675mn, mainly driven by the ¥1,961mn (+24.6% YoY) increase in priority Content business (revival of events, etc. post COVID-19) offsetting the ¥917mn (-3.5% YoY) decline in Broadcasting due to the harsh environment for TV spot advertising revenues and the ¥275mn (-18.7% YoY) decline in At-home shopping due to special demand associated with COVID-19 subsiding, as well as delays in rolling out new e-commerce initiatives.
- ABC TV’s strategic deployment of programming expenses (¥8,278mn, +5.3% YoY) to strengthen Content-related business also weighed on profits.
EQD | Nikkei 225 WEEKLY Lift Off: Can It Go Higher?
- The Nikkei 225 INDEX experienced a 1-week explosive rally, last week, reaching nearly +6.6% higher than the previous week’s Close.
- The index is now very overbought, can it continue to rise next week? and and how much higher can it go?
- Go SHORT in the 36000-38350 price area, but the trade is not without risk.
Honda Motor Co.: Wage Hike Considerations & Global Economic Context – Major Drivers
- Honda Motor delivered a disappointing set of results as it was unable to meet the revenue and earnings expectations of Wall Street.
- The motorcycle businesses experienced high profits, while the automotive sector saw improved profitability, particularly in North America.
- In the United States, Honda experienced solid demand with a secured semiconductor supply, leading to higher year-on-year results.
Sony Group Corporation: Revolutionizing Content Production With NTT Collaboration – Major Drivers
- Sony Group Corporation delivered disappointing results as the company was unable to meet Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations.
- However, consolidated operating income witnessed a substantial year-on-year decline of JPY 106.4 billion, reaching JPY 263.0 billion.
- Operating income increased by JPY 6.8 billion to JPY 48.9 billion, primarily driven by increased sales of PlayStation 5 hardware.
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