fundamental research | Blue Gem Research

Share Code: ARH – Market Cap: R0.9bn – PE: 7.0x – DY: 6.2%

FY 19 – Macro-headwinds Remain Strong

ARB Holdings grew revenue +4.5% y/y, partially bolstered by Radiant, GMC and CraigCor acquisitions.
An anaemic domestic economy and construction sector, supply chain disruptions, competitor activity & a volatile currency all combined to put downward pressure on Group results, while the Group also began accounting for Radiant with restructuring once-offs costs, relocated operations in Gauteng and suffered some non-cash impairments and Put Option revaluations due to subsidiary results.
IFRS HEPS slipped -19% y/y to 58.2cps (FY 18: 71.7cps), but this materially beat our conservative expectations of 50.1cps. We see our calculated ‘Normalized’ earnings figure as c.-21% y/y.
The Group maintained its dividend at 25cps (FY 18: 25cps + 10cps special dividend) as cash flows remained strong.

Our Thoughts: Domestic versus Global – Eskom versus Trump

Globally, a red-flags are flashing as the US-China Trade War escalates and the global economy suffers.
Domestically, Brexit (as the UK is a large South African trading partner) and Eskom continue directly hurting our economy.
While these global and domestic risks are well-known, any positive resolutions to them would create macro-upside that should bolster prospects going forward.
Given the depth of discount the valuation of the domestic small cap sector currently trades at, we would argue that no positives anywhere have been priced in and therein lies the opportunity.

Forecast, Valuation & Implied Return: Still Quality & Still Value

Our fair value for ARH is 576cps (previously: 636cps) on an implied Price Earnings (PE) of 9.9x, indicating that the stock is c.42% undervalued at its current share price.
Rolling our fair value forward at our CoE, we arrive at a 12m TP of 670cps (previous 12m TP: 744cps) on an Exit PE of 12.6x.

See our methodology here and note our disclaimer here.

Share Code: ARH – Market Cap: R1.3bn – PE: 7.6x – DY: 3.65%

H1:18 – Operationally Robust

ARB Holdings reported revenue +5% for H1:18 and operating profit growing +3%.
The mark-to-market fair value changes in the Put Option for Eurolux distorted the IFRS numbers by 5.9cps, but excluding this effect, the Group’s HEPS would have been +13% y/y to 31.72cps (H1:17 – 28.07cps). This is materially better than our bottom-line expectations for FY 18E.
One sore point in the Group’s results was its Lighting segment where revenue slipped and profits felt pressure as consumer destocking, technology and delays combined.
Post-reporting period, the Group acquired a 60% interest in Craigcor for a maximum consideration of R30m. The business is a process automation distributor for Rockwell Automation products.

Our Thoughts: Well-positioned for an ‘SA Inc’ Recovery

While risks remain and ‘big ticket’ infrastructure spend roll-out is always lagging, ARB Holdings is extremely well to benefit from the de-risking of South Africa, the recovering sentiment and the potential recovering domestic economic activity.

Forecast, Valuation & Implied Return: Getting Exciting…

We raise our estimated fair value for ARH to 777cps (previously: 687cps), which puts the stock on an implied Price Earnings (PE) of 10.0x and implies that it is currently c.44% undervalued.
In our opinion, this 10.9x PE is reasonable when measured against either itself or comparatives.
Rolling our fair value forward at our Cost of Equity (CoE) we arrive at a 12m TP of 911cps (previous 12m TP: 809cps).
A 12m TP of 911cps places the share on a fair Exit PE of 14.5x, though we note a number of timing and environmental risks to our view.
Our 12m TP implies a return of c.69%.
Despite improving domestic sentiment, key risks to the Group are unchanged from our original Initiation of Coverage.

See our methodology here and note our disclaimer here.

Blue Gem Research