Tag Archives: chris seabrooke

Sabvest Capital – FY 23 Results – NAVigating a Challenging Period

Share Code: SBP – Market Cap: R2.7bn – Dividend Yield: 1.3%

Sabvest Capital – Results Note – FY 23Download

FY 23 Results: Rare period of pressure

  • Sabvest saw its Net Asset Value (NAV) per share slip fractionally lower to 10936cps (FY 22: 11017cps) as headwinds of higher inflation, higher interest rates and higher raw materials costs coincided with logistics challenges across the businesses held in its portfolio.
  • Most of the Group’s businesses performed good-to-well, though ITL Group & Halewood continued to trade through difficult respective structural and cyclical headwinds.
  • Management expects to resume satisfactory growth in NAV per share in FY 24, & we tend to agree.

Thoughts: Today’s Underperformers = Tomorrow’s Upside

  • Over the last couple of years, ITL’s contribution to NAV has fallen from 20% to 10%, but the business (&, indeed, the entire global apparel sector) has restructured & could end up gaining from this period of disruption. Equity here is currently valued at zero but we suspect that this will not remain so & provides future upside optionality.
  • Likewise, Halewood’s current difficult trading period belies the value of the underlying that—in our opinion—management is valuing conservatively. As headwinds turn to tailwinds here, earnings should follow mix, & we see upside in this investment’s contribution to NAV too.
  • Finally, SA Bias is performing excellently & Apex, DNI, Valemount & Masimong all have healthy prospects.

Valuation, 12m TP & Implied Return: Wide discount to NAV

  • The share is currently trading at a c.37% discount to NAV.
  • Using our updated NAV (with the latest market prices) we arrive at a defendable (post-discount) fair value for Sabvest’s shares of 9817cps (previously: 10060cps), which still includes a HoldCo c.10% discount against this NAV.
  • Rolling our post-discount fair value forward, we see the Group’s 12m TP as 11675cps (previously: 11920cps) with an implied return of +69%.
  • See inside our report comparisons to some of the other JSE-listed HoldCo stocks.

Sabvest Capital: Breakdown of Group Net Asset Value (NAV)

Sabvest Capital – Results Note – FY 23Download

Sabvest Capital – H1:23 Results – Growth Despite Tougher Period

Share Code: SBP – Market Cap: R2.8bn – Dividend Yield: 1.3%

Sabvest Capital – Results Note – H1:23Download

H1:23 Results: Fully Invested

  • Sabvest grew its Net Asset Value (NAV) by +10.4% y/y to 11465cps (H1:23 10388cps) and maintained its interim dividend at 30cps (H1:22 – 30cps).
  • The Group is fully invested and, indeed, has several investment disposals in progress. With net debt at c.10% of gross assets, we expect realizations to be applied (somewhat) to degearing.
  • Management expects moderate growth in NAV per share for the full FY 23E period.
  • Note (below) how unlisted valuation multiples have remained flat over the period.

Sources: Sabvest, Iress, Profile Media, various company reports, & Blue Gem Research workings & assumptions; *Valuation performed by Masimong management predominantly based on Discounted Free Cash Flow methodology. **Average between subsidiaries’ multiples (4.5x and 6.0x).

Thoughts: More Nuanced Performances from Investees

  • While H1:23 was generally a tougher trading period for underlying businesses, particularly Apex, ARB and SA Bias all performed strongly and saw good growth in their earnings and, thus, resulting valuations.
  • Somewhat offsetting this, Halewood saw a cyclical adverse product mix and ITL continued to be buffeted by macro headwinds in the global apparel supply chain causing both to underperform. Both these businesses are good quality, and, in time, we expect these headwinds to abate, normal growth to continue and their respective contributions to Sabvest’s NAV to rise accordingly.

Valuation, 12m TP & Implied Return: 40% discount to NAV

  • Updating the Group’s NAV for the latest market prices we arrive at a defendable (post-discount) fair value for Sabvest’s shares of 10060cps (previously: 9227cps), which still includes a HoldCo c.13% discount against this NAV.
  • Rolling our post-discount fair value forward, we see the Group’s 12m TP as 11920cps (previously: 10906cps) with an implied return of +73%, excluding dividends.
  • Beyond the above numbers and implied returns, the fact is that the Group’s share price (6900cps) is currently at a large c.40% discount to what we estimate its current NAV is (11534cps). Given the Group’s track record, quality of NAV and prospects, we find this large discount strange.
Sabvest Capital – Results Note – H1:23Download

Sabvest Capital – Initiation of Coverage – Superb Capital Allocator at Unjustified Discount

Share Code: SBP – Market Cap: R1.6bn – Discount-to-SOTP: 64%

Sabvest Capital – Initiation of CoverageDownload

Group & Portfolio Overview: Majority Unlisted Investments

  • Sabvest Capital offers a unique entry-point into a portfolio of majority unlisted investments that have demonstrated strong growth, dedicated management teams (often co-investors) and that are carried at reasonable valuations.
  • The Group’s three largest investments (all unlisted) are (1) DNI-4PL, a cash-generative last-mile telcos distribution group, (2) ITL Holdings, a global labelling & technology-enabled tagging business, & (3) SA Bias, an exporter of narrow textiles/strapping from South Africa and group offering process-critical fluid handling solutions in the United Kingdom.

Investment Case: Better than the Best (Fund Manager) & Cheaper

  • Management has grown Group NAV (+18.6% CAGR y/y for fifteen years, excluding dividends) faster than the best-of-the-best general equity fund managers across South Africa (even after including distributions) and management have done so at a lower cost-to-NAV than these leading unit trusts.
  • Finally, this performance is currently priced at a c.51% discount to NAV on the JSE (relative to our estimated fair discount of only c.19% and the peer-group average discount of 42% currently applied to listed HoldCo’s > R1bn market cap).
  • The key competitive advantages that have helped Sabvest generate this growth (permanent capital & alignment of interest/‘Partnership Principle’) remain intact and, thus, we see no non-macro factors why the Group could not continue performing as it has done in the past.

Valuation, 12m TP & Implied Return: Cheap Against All Measures

  • We have formed a view that the Group’s unlisted investments are reasonably valued. Importantly, most of them have seen trading recover strongly following the impact of COVID.
  • Furthermore, updating the Group’s NAV for the latest listed price, inserting post-period corporate actions and taking out our fairly-valued “HoldCo discount” of 19%, we arrive at defendable (post-discount) fair value for Sabvest Capital shares of 6402cps or +64% higher than the current share price.
  • Rolling this fair value forward at our Cost of Equity, we see the Group’s 12m TP as 7542cps with an implied return of +93%.
Sabvest Capital – Initiation of CoverageDownload