In today’s briefing:
- Sona Comstar’s China JV: Tapping into the World’s Largest EV Market
- Chow Tai Fook(1929 HK) – What’s Clicking in Q1FY26? Brand Revamp, Cost Focus and SSS Recovery
- Prestige Hospitality Ventures Pre-IPO-Marriott-Heavy Portfolio with Other Operating Revenue Concerns
- Woolworths Group Limited: Initiation of Coverage- Inside the Bold Push to Reinvent Grocery with W Living and Private Labels!
- Proxy Voting at AGMs Is Good Opportunity for Investors to Think if Managers Fulfill Fiduciary Duties
- REA Group: Initiation of Coverage- Yield Gains
- BBW: Snapping the Store; Going to the Next Level; Reiterate Buy, $65 PT
Sona Comstar’s China JV: Tapping into the World’s Largest EV Market
- On July 20, 2025, Sona Blw Precision Forgings Lt (SONACOMS IN) announced a $20 million joint venture with China’s JNT to enter the world’s largest EV market.
- The move aims to capture growth in China’s dominant EV market, aligning with the company’s new strategy to expand into eastern markets
- An EV slowdown is expected in FY26 while the China JV and railway business, despite driving future growth from FY27 onwards, are expected to lower margins.
Chow Tai Fook(1929 HK) – What’s Clicking in Q1FY26? Brand Revamp, Cost Focus and SSS Recovery
- Chow Tai Fook Jewellery (1929 HK) saw lowest degrowth in retail sales value(RSV) in Q1FY26 among last few quarters.
- Same-Store sales growth showed a clear sequential improvement across key regions. Mainland China self-operated stores saw the decline narrow sharply.
- Driven by store optimization and brand transformation, earnings quality should sustain. At 16.9x P/E valuation on FY26e EPS, we believe investors will increasingly view CTF as a long-term structural winner.
Prestige Hospitality Ventures Pre-IPO-Marriott-Heavy Portfolio with Other Operating Revenue Concerns
- Prestige Hospitality Ventures Ltd (1831338D IN) is looking to raise about US$317m in its upcoming India IPO.
- Prestige Hospitality Ventures Ltd (PHVL) is part of the Prestige Group. It is a hospitality asset owner and developer focused on luxury, upper upscale, and upper midscale properties in India.
- In this note, we talk about the company’s historical performance.
Woolworths Group Limited: Initiation of Coverage- Inside the Bold Push to Reinvent Grocery with W Living and Private Labels!
- Woolworths Group’s half-year financial performance for FY 2025 exhibits a mix of achievements and challenges, emphasizing the competitive and dynamic retail landscape.
- The company’s diverse portfolio, including Australian Food, New Zealand Food, BIG W, and other segments, reflected varied growth patterns influenced by external and internal factors.
- Starting with the positives, Woolworths Group achieved a 3.7% increase in group sales, reaching $35.9 billion, with eCommerce sales showcasing robust growth of 20%.
Proxy Voting at AGMs Is Good Opportunity for Investors to Think if Managers Fulfill Fiduciary Duties
- Although corporate governance in Japan has gradually improved over the past decade, many listed companies have failed to achieve their management goal of sustainable growth in corporate value.
- TSE seems to believe that the underlying problem is that management does not recognize “capital costs” and is therefore unable to concentrate resources on businesses that can secure sufficient margins.
- I believe that the problem stems from a lack of awareness that free cash flow belongs to shareholders and that companies have a fiduciary duty to shareholders.
REA Group: Initiation of Coverage- Yield Gains
- REA Group Limited has reported strong growth in its third quarter of the fiscal year, underscored by significant yield increases across its operations.
- The company posted a 12% rise in revenue to $374 million, alongside a 12% boost in EBITDA, excluding associates, reaching $199 million.
- These results reflect favorable market conditions and strategic initiatives implemented by the company.
BBW: Snapping the Store; Going to the Next Level; Reiterate Buy, $65 PT
- We are reiterating our Buy rating, $65 price target and projections for Build-A-Bear Workshop after visiting stores in Long Island and Connecticut.
- Even though we are in the dog days of Summer, Build-A-Bear has seen no slowdown in innovation, launching their first round of licensed Mini Beans (Hello Kitty and Friends), leveraging the recent Superman movie release, beginning to roll out new fixtures for Mini Beans, expanding their relationship with cheer-leading leader Varsity Sports and launching new Giant licensed characters (Bluey).
- With Halloween on track for release next month, we believe there has been no slowdown in momentum for the company, and we remain confident in Build-A-Bear’s potential to drive further top and bottom line upside; as such, we reiterate our Buy rating and $65 price target for BBW.
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