Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: Piolax (5988 JP) – Murakami-San Gets BIG Buyback Tender Offer and more

• Piolax Inc (5988 JP) is a small, low ROE, over-capitalised autoparts maker mostly making low-moat parts, but they sell A LOT of them. About a gajillion. 
• They started 100% div payout ratios 3yrs ago, and last year started a new MTMP to pay out 100% and then buy back a lot of stock. Murakami bought 10%.
• In November they launched a big buyback. Now they are launching a 23.78% Tender Offer Buyback where Murakami-san will sell. Big accretion on forward expectations downgrades. Hmmm… 🤨

• We believe in 2025 HK/China shall outperform EM. While the undervalued and under-owned characteristic of the China market is well-known, monetizability of China’s technological capabilities has become apparent only recently.
• Policy stimuli during the upcoming NPC could catalyze consumer sentiment and market performance. China’s structural hurdles, Debt, Demographics and Deflation, remain. But correct stock and sector selection can generate alpha.
• We prefer the internet platforms, consumer discretionary and high dividend yield, the latter largely SOEs. Our “China Twelve” are mostly reasonably valued (low teen PE), with double digit EPS growth.

• Jack Dorsey’s interest in understanding what was happening in neighborhoods led him to programming
• The original vision for Twitter was simply to be able to see what friends were doing and share updates
• The development of new features on Twitter, such as replies, hashtags, and retweets, was driven by how people were using the platform and their needs for public conversation and sharing information.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• 4Q24 IC ATM sales recorded NT$162bn, up 1% QoQ, GM: 16.4%, down 0.1% QoQ. EMS sales were NT$74.9bn, down 1% QoQ mainly due to seasonality. 
• 1Q25 EMS sales will decline slightly YoY, and OPM is down 0.13ppts YoY. IC-ATM sales will decline mid-single-digits QoQ and GM is down slightly more than 1% QoQ.
• Believes it will bring upside from new US BIS policy to ban non-listed OSAT vendors (especially China vendors) to produce US-related chip, but can’t quantify at this moment.

• Link REIT’s HK manager is starting a private funds venture in the market, showcasing a new area of investment and growth potential.
• Yanlord is looking to sell a half-stake in an Anson Road project for $240M, indicating a strategic move in their property portfolio.
• Weave Living is expanding its presence in Singapore with 2 new locations, adding a total of 330 units to their portfolio.

• Revenue rose 37.5% YoY and 9% QoQ, boosted by Decision Point contributions and a major deal win.
• Robust growth in revenue and EBITDA underscores Latent View’s ability to secure strategic client wins, strengthening its competitive edge in data analytics.
• Company is tracking towards its $ 100-110 Mn, where they have plan to reach upto $200 Mn in next 3 years.

• Media reports of a sharp decline in profit linked to trade tensions are not correct. Gross, operating and total net profit all increased from 1Q to 4Q of 2024.
• Management’s guidance for 1Q of 2025 has sales growth accelerating to 6% to 8% and the gross margin remaining relatively high at 19% to 21%. This looks reasonable.
• But the shares are near their all-time high and too expensive to chase given the potential negative impact of President Trump’s trade policy. Take profits.

• Ametek is a niche manufacturer of highly engineered products across a broad range of end markets
• Ametek’s major end markets include Medtech, aerospace/defense, power, automotive, semis/RD, and industrial, with significant diversification

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• Dye and Durham is a Canadian-listed real estate and business law service provider with a market cap of $1.3 billion
• Investigation into the company revealed issues such as misleading revenue pull forwards, high churn rates, and a significant drop in log-in traffic
• Former employees raised concerns about financials, governance issues, and unhappy customers with price increases, leading to a drop in market share.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• There will be significant drop in revenue in FY26 due to the loss of exclusivity of the key product, but company is looking for acquisition & doing R&D.  
• Natco is focusing on launching the oral version of Semaglutide in the Indian market and is awaiting regulatory approvals for clinical trials.
• Primary reason of fall in revenue was the absence of sales from a key product.