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Director | Exposing Creative Accounting, Bucephalus Research Partnership

Robert Medd

Director | Exposing Creative Accounting

Exposing Creative Accounting

Bucephalus Research Partnership

Bucephalus Research Partnership Limited. Exposing Creative Accounting.

At the Bucephalus Research Partnership (BRP) we analyse financial statements using our accountant's practical experience and our own quantitative algorithms for corporate governance, accounting risk and peer performance.

Our thematic research refines our unique algorithms while our single stock research focuses on examples where we discover a significant gap between published accounts and business reality.

​Bucephalus Research Partnership:
- Is an independent fee-based research service
- Does not take proprietary positions, long or short
- Does not solicit business or fees from the corporates we review

Forensic Accounting

Inflated profits, aged assets, negative cashflow
JFE has been inflating profits by under depreciating and cashflow by underinvesting. In FY2019, it will barely breakeven and liabilities may rise by Y400bn. FY2020 will be far worse. Even before COVID, Japanese demand was falling and the steel cycle was turning down. At today’s non trough steel spreads, JFE is lossmaking and business cashflow is structurally negative. By YE FY20, JFE will have raised Y300bn plus the Y30bn of maturing bonds to fund the renewal of its over-valued, aging assets. It has listed non core assets, but debt will be over 8x EBITDA. No covenants mean debt can keep rising, but will never be repaid. Equity holders will be wiped out. SELL.

Inflated profits, aged assets, negative cashflow
JFE has been inflating profits by under depreciating and cashflow by underinvesting. In FY2019, it will barely breakeven and liabilities may rise by Y400bn. FY2020 will be far worse. Even before COVID, Japanese demand was falling and the steel cycle was turning down. At today’s non trough steel spreads, JFE is lossmaking and business cashflow is structurally negative. By YE FY20, JFE will have raised Y300bn plus the Y30bn of maturing bonds to fund the renewal of its over-valued, aging assets. It has listed non core assets, but debt will be over 8x EBITDA. No covenants mean debt can keep rising, but will never be repaid. Equity holders will be wiped out. SELL.

JFE Holdings

JFE Holdings: Off to the Scrap Heap