President, Vision Research

Robert C Prather Jr

President

Vision Research

Vision Research was formed in 2004 with the vision of generating the best possible fundamental analysis and investment research for smid cap US equities. In 2008, we broadened our coverage to include mid/large cap US stocks.  After researching a  few ideas outside the US each year for a number of years, we launched a dedicated non-US equity product at the end of 2015.  This was followed by the introduction of a product focused on IPOs in mid-2017.

Fundamental Insight

Equity Bottom-Up

Shenzhou Intl Group Holdings / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Key customers &amp; their retail partners battling excess inventory, waning consumer demand, and market share losses in certain geographies</li>
<li>Plans for capacity expansion amid demand uncertainties and alt data and macro picture may prove aggressive and along with risks of reshoring/nearshoring &amp; friend-shoring may prove margin dilutive</li>
<li>Consensus expectations for 2H23 and 2024 appear overly optimistic and valuation is not cheap given the growth profile</li>
</ul>


Key customers &amp; their retail partners battling excess inventory, waning consumer demand, and market share losses in certain geographies
Plans for capacity expansion amid demand uncertainties and alt data and macro picture may prove aggressive and along with risks of reshoring/nearshoring &amp; friend-shoring may prove margin dilutive
Consensus expectations for 2H23 and 2024 appear overly optimistic and valuation is not cheap given the growth profile


Shenzhou (2313 HK): Contract Mfr for Leading Sportswear Brands Facing Challenging Demand Outlook.

IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

Uncompromised, Independent, Conflict-Free Research

Global Equity Research Ltd

Global Equity Research was started in 2017 by a group of experienced research professionals. It was founded on a passionate belief in the importance and the need for uncompromised, independent, conflict-free research. We aim to provide differentiated and actionable primary and bottom up fundamental research.

Equity Capital Markets

Belle Fashion Group / Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/belle-fashion-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:40959:1" rel="noopener">Belle Fashion Group (2007708D HK)</a>, the largest fashion footwear company in China, is seeking to raise up to US$1 billion in a HKEx IPO. </li>
<li>Belle Fashion originated from <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/belle-international-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:17174:1" rel="noopener">Belle International Holdings (2129452D HK)</a>, which was privatised in 2017. In October 2019, Belle International spun off its sportswear business as <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/topsports-international-holdings" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28153:1" rel="noopener">Topsports International Holdings (6110 HK)</a>.</li>
<li>The investment case rests on a market-leading position, return to growth, margin improvement, cash generation and modest leverage. </li>
</ul>



Belle Fashion Group (2007708D HK), the largest fashion footwear company in China, is seeking to raise up to US$1 billion in a HKEx IPO. 
Belle Fashion originated from Belle International Holdings (2129452D HK), which was privatised in 2017. In October 2019, Belle International spun off its sportswear business as Topsports International Holdings (6110 HK).
The investment case rests on a market-leading position, return to growth, margin improvement, cash generation and modest leverage. 


<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/amer-sports-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21751:1" rel="noopener">Amer Sports (AS US)</a> is a global iconic sports and outdoor brand group. According to press reports, it has filed for a NYSE IPO to raise US$2 billion.</li>
<li>In <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/amer-sports-ipo-the-bull-case" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:124040" rel="noopener">Amer Sports IPO: The Bull Case</a>, we highlighted the key elements of the bull case. In this note, we outline the bear case.</li>
<li>The bear case rests on ball &amp; racquet sports’ deteriorating performance, EBIT margin not materially improving under the consortium’s ownership, cash burn and high leverage.</li>
</ul>



Amer Sports (AS US) is a global iconic sports and outdoor brand group. According to press reports, it has filed for a NYSE IPO to raise US$2 billion.
In Amer Sports 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 ball &amp; racquet sports’ deteriorating performance, EBIT margin not materially improving under the consortium’s ownership, cash burn and high leverage.


<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/amer-sports-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21751:1" rel="noopener">Amer Sports (AS US)</a> is a global iconic sports and outdoor brand group. According to press reports, it has filed for a NYSE IPO to raise US$2 billion.</li>
<li>In 2019, a consortium of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/anta-sports-products-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10261:1" rel="noopener">Anta Sports Products (2020 HK)</a>, FountainVest, Anamered Investments and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent (700 HK)</a> acquired Amer at an EV of €5.5 billion.  </li>
<li>The bull case rests on the rapid growth and gross margin improvement under the consortium's ownership, along with technical apparel and outdoor performance’s improving revenue and margin profile. </li>
</ul>



Amer Sports (AS US) is a global iconic sports and outdoor brand group. According to press reports, it has filed for a NYSE IPO to raise US$2 billion.
In 2019, a consortium of Anta Sports Products (2020 HK), FountainVest, Anamered Investments and Tencent (700 HK) acquired Amer at an EV of €5.5 billion.  
The bull case rests on the rapid growth and gross margin improvement under the consortium's ownership, along with technical apparel and outdoor performance’s improving revenue and margin profile. 


External broker reports(aggregated public sources), CMB International

CMB International

External broker reports(aggregated public sources)

Incorporated in Hong Kong, supported by the mainland and targeting in global market, CMB International Capital Corporation Limited (“CMBI”) is an integrated financial institution providing comprehensive and professional services. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank ("CMB"), by leveraging on the Group’s synergy and coordination in domestic and overseas markets, as well as CMB’s strong resources and outstanding social reputation, CMBI and its subsidiaries have been actively implementing diversified business strategies and set up an overall layout of main business segments including Corporate Finance, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Global Markets and Structured Finance, etc. Adhering to the philosophy of “being clients oriented and increasing our own values by the way of creating value for clients”, CMBI endeavors to provide quality and integrated financial services to institutional, corporate and individual customers both domestic and overseas including Hong Kong IPO sponsorship and underwriting, share placement and rights issue for listed companies, financial advisors, bonds issuance services, asset management, direct investment, wealth management, equity sales and trading, etc.

Topsports International Holdings / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>3Q24 retail sales growth was at low-teens, in line with expectations but the underlying fundamentals are good.</li><li>We still think the outlook for Topsports is solid, despite industry headwinds.</li><li>Maintain BUY and TP of HK$9.23, based on 18x FY2/25E P/E (unchanged).</li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

3Q24 retail sales growth was at low-teens, in line with expectations but the underlying fundamentals are good.We still think the outlook for Topsports is solid, despite industry headwinds.Maintain BUY and TP of HK$9.23, based on 18x FY2/25E P/E (unchanged).Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Topsports (6110 HK) – Turnaround Continues After a Resilient 3Q24

Hong Kong

Pou Sheng International (Holdings) Limited retails and wholesales sportswear, including sports footwear, apparel and accessories.

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Pou Sheng International (3813 HK)

Shenzhou (2313 HK): Contract Mfr for Leading Sportswear Brands Facing Challenging Demand Outlook.

Consensus estimates do not account for customer, retailer, Asian market share shift, macro, alt data and geopolitical risks.

Robert C Prather Jr

Belle Fashion IPO: The Investment Case

The investment case rests on a market-leading position, return to growth, margin improvement, cash generation and modest leverage.

Arun George

Amer Sports IPO: The Bear Case

The bear case rests on ball and racquet sports’ deteriorating performance, EBIT margin not materially improving under the consortium’s ownership,...

Arun George

Amer Sports IPO: The Bull Case

The bull case rests on the rapid growth and gross margin improvement under the consortium's ownership, along with technical apparel and outdoor...

Arun George

Topsports (6110 HK) – Turnaround Continues After a Resilient 3Q24

Sales growth acceleration should be from the new products and better marketing while margin improvement should be from self-initiated efficiency...

CMB International

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