Daily Brief Consumer: Gree Electric Appliances, Pepkor Holdings , BYD, Sands China, Pacific Industrial, JAKKS Pacific , Reach, RELX NV, Betterware de Mexico Sab de CV and more

• Since inception on February 23, our Robust Dividend Yielders basket has generated 20.3% total return, vs MSCI Asia-ex-Japan’s 11.34%. 10 stocks in our basket of 23 appreciated more than 20%.
• We reconstruct our basket screening all Asian stocks > US$2bn market cap, dividend yield >6% in 2025 and 2026, EPS CAGR > 5% and upward revision to EPS forecasts.
• Our new Dividend Yield basket has 15 stocks, 10 from HK, 3 from onshore China, 1 each from Indonesia and Singapore. Bosideng is the only stock common in both baskets. 

• Following Ibex’s disposal of its 28% stake in Pepcor earlier this week, Pepcor (PPH) will be upweighted in the closing auction today.
• PPH’s free float will increase to 99.82% from 71.61%. Passive funds and hedgers will need to increase their exposure by between 37 and 47bps.
• In addition, active managers looking to maintain their active positioning would need to buy PPH, failure to do so would result in an underweight of 39bps (assuming a Capped ALSI benchmark and an active weight of 0%).

• Ibex sold its entire 28% stake in Pepkor Holdings (PPH SJ) for $1.5bn in a Secondary Offering completed on 22 July 2025.
• The free float is expected to increase by 28 percentage points causing a significant upweight in Global and South African indices at the close of 25 July 2025.
• Aggregated passive fund demand is estimated at 103m shares, $160m and 15 ADV at the close of 25 July.

• Octopus Energy Ltd., Britain’s largest power utility, has partnered with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD Co. Ltd. on a service in the U.K. that can help EV owners cut down on charging costs by providing them with a way to supply electricity to the grid.
• The Power Pack Bundle, launched last month, offers customers a leased BYD Dolphin and a special two-way charger that turns the car into a battery that can send electricity back to the grid during peak hours.
• This is one application of the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system, creating a two-way street for electricity to flow between charging stations and EVs. This allows cars to charge up when power is abundant and provide electricity back into the grid when demand surges.

• In today’s Morning Views publication we comment on developments of the following high yield issuers: Sands China
• UST yields rose yesterday, with the curve bear flattening for a second day as the market pared expectations for Fed rate cuts. The yield on the 2Y UST increased by 4 bps to 3.92%, while that on the 10Y UST was up 1 bp at 4.40%.
• Equities closed at fresh record highs, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq advancing 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

• Pacific Industrial (7250 JP) has recommended an MBO at JPY2,050, a 16.4% premium to the last close price and a 40.3% premium to the undisturbed price.
• While the offer is below book value (P/B of 0.71x), it represents an all-time high and is above the mid-point of the IFA DCF valuation range. 
• Pacific Industrial has no history of activism. Therefore, the offer will succeed at current terms unless there is vocal opposition or an activist becomes a substantial shareholder. 

• We are reiterating our Buy rating and $40 price target, and conservatively leaving our 2025 and 2026 EPS projections untouched after JAKKS Pacific registered EPS upside, but a revenue miss, for 2Q25, as the company’s operations were materially impacted by the imposition of China tariffs, which served to disrupt shipments utilizing the Freight On Board (“FOB”) method.
• While a 40% increase in international revenue YoY demonstrated what could have been, domestic sales declines of over 30% in the United States showed the lost potential of the quarter.
• That said, management did a solid job controlling the levers in their control to still register a small profit.

Reach’s interims show it is on track to meet full-year expectations. The statement highlights the new CEO’s strategic priorities: driving deeper and broader connections with audiences, accelerating the use of AI and technology, and diversifying revenue sources. The underlying macroeconomic backdrop is still difficult and further shifts in traffic referral routes, notably via Google, are problematic. However, Reach has plenty of experience in mitigating market challenges. Compelling content, in appropriate formats (especially video), should continue to build digital audiences and generate the associated data to attract advertisers, both in the UK and US markets. With inherently strong cash conversion and the end in sight for the substantive funding needed to settle historical legal issues and pension obligations, Reach can start to be more proactive in building a route back to growth.

• In today’s edition: • ING / Van Lanschot Kempen | ING completes acquisition of Van Lanschot Kempen stake • RELX Group | held talks with investors to move prime listing to New York • Signify | 25Q2 results broadly in line with consensus – marginally adjusts FY25 outlook • BAM Group | revises FY25 adjusted EBITDA-margin upward to at least 5%

• We are reiterating our Buy rating and price target for Betterware de Mexico, but lowering our 2025 and 2026 projections after the company reported lower than expected 1Q25 (March) results and lowered the dividend rate.
• 1Q faced the toughest FX comparisons, which were further exacerbated by weakness in the Mexican consumer and the company’s decision to raise prices at the Betterware division.
• That said, management still reiterated 2024 revenue and EBITDA guidance.