In today’s briefing:
- Pop Mart (9992 HK): Eye-Popping Growth. Is It the Next Pokémon for Kidults?
- The Beat Ideas: Park Hotels: Serving Long-Term Value
- Update- SAMHI Hotels: Strategic Partnership with GIC
- UMC 1Q25 Is the Bottom, Consensus Is Low but the Stock at Average Valuations
- Texas Instruments: Surprisingly Good 1Q25, Good 2Q Guidance. End-Markets Are Back to YoY Growth.
- Nidec (6594) | Chasing Trends to Fiscal Discipline
- SK Hynix Earnings Highlights Strong AI Dependence and Tariff Concerns
- Intuitive Surgical (ISRG US): Strong 1Q Result; Tariffs to Impact Margin
- Kaiser Reef Ltd – Becoming a Bigger East Coast Gold Producer
- Jafco Co Ltd (8595 JP): Full-year FY03/25 flash update
Pop Mart (9992 HK): Eye-Popping Growth. Is It the Next Pokémon for Kidults?
- Pop Mart International Group L (9992 HK) ’s stock has nearly doubled in three months, fueled by surging revenue and the breakout popularity of its Labubu dolls.
- Driven by strong international expansion and solid omni-channel demand in its home market, Pop Mart reported over 165% revenue growth in 1Q2025 compared to the same period last year.
- Investors remain split on whether Pop Mart’s unconventional products and marketing are driven by lasting fandom or just a passing trend.
The Beat Ideas: Park Hotels: Serving Long-Term Value
- Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotel (PARK IN), With a sharp pivot post-IPO, it has deleveraged, scaled Flurys to 100 outlets, and launched ARR-led palace properties, all while staying asset-light and cash-smart.
- F&B now contributes nearly half of revenues, ARRs are climbing, and legacy land is being monetised to fund INR 500 crore of capex without debt.
- Earlier seen as a traditional hotel chain, Park now to be looked as a brand with strong visibility, smart capital use, and fresh retail momentum.
Update- SAMHI Hotels: Strategic Partnership with GIC
- SAMHI Hotels (SAMHI IN) has entered into a strategic partnership with GIC, a global institutional investor, to establish a joint venture platform for upscale and higher hotel assets in India.
- This transaction will significantly reduce SAMHI’s debt, enhance its financial flexibility, and provide access to up to $300 million in future capital for further expansion in high-demand upscale hotel sector.
- The partnership with GIC strengthens SAMHI’s growth outlook, boosts profitability through debt reduction, and positions the company to capitalize on the rapidly expanding upscale hospitality market in India.
UMC 1Q25 Is the Bottom, Consensus Is Low but the Stock at Average Valuations
- 1Q miss on non-ops and it’s the bottom for margins. Strong 2Q guidance but very low visibility into 2H: tariff uncertainty.
- The JV with Intel for 12nm is proceeding well and demand is strong for Made in US 12nm. Some upside here for 2027
- Consensus is probably a tad too low but the stock trading at average PEx ~12x. No arbitrage here.
Texas Instruments: Surprisingly Good 1Q25, Good 2Q Guidance. End-Markets Are Back to YoY Growth.
- Demand for Auto & Industrial Semis was weak in 2024, Semi inventories remain high. But TXN beats 1Q guidance handsomely, 2Q is above expectations. TXN is back to YoY growth.
- Critically, the Industrial market is recovering rapidly, Auto is back to modest growth. Management has some concerns that there could be re-stocking ahead of US import tariffs.
- Consensus is too low but the stock is not cheap, has deflated from bubble levels but still not cheap.
Nidec (6594) | Chasing Trends to Fiscal Discipline
- Nidec beat Q4 expectations but offered muted FY3/26 guidance, with flat sales and modest profit growth amid macro and tariff uncertainty.
- New CEO Kishida shifts focus from top-line ambition to margin discipline, targeting ¥150bn in cost cuts over three years.
- Once a high-growth play, Nidec now trades at value multiples — 1.5x book — offering a more grounded path to shareholder returns.
SK Hynix Earnings Highlights Strong AI Dependence and Tariff Concerns
- SK hynix announced their second-highest revenue and operating profit for the first quarter of 2025
- Much of the company’s performance is the result of its first-mover advantage and excellent execution in the HBM market
- Two issues threaten the company: AI growth may stall, and tariff changes could interfere with the company’s global supply chain
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG US): Strong 1Q Result; Tariffs to Impact Margin
- Intuitive Surgical (ISRG US) revenue grew 19% YoY to $2.3B in 1Q25. Procedures volume grew ~17% YoY, which boosted instruments and accessories revenue.
- The company placed 367 da Vinci surgical systems, compared with 313 in 1Q24. It included 147 da Vinci 5 systems, compared with 8 in the same period last year.
- Intuitive has raised the procedure growth guidance range from 13–15% to 15–17%, while trimming down gross margin to the range 65–66.5% from 67–68%, due to tariffs.
Kaiser Reef Ltd – Becoming a Bigger East Coast Gold Producer
- Kaiser Reef Ltd (ASX:KAU) is undergoing a transformation as it acquires the Henty Gold mine from Catalyst Minerals (ASX:CYL) which should drive a step change in the production profile of the company from <12kozpa to 37kozpa (proforma) with scope to increase to 50kozpa+ in the medium term.
- Post the funding package completed alongside the acquisition, KAU has $27.2m in cash which can support the incremental investments into its mining operations to achieve the stated production targets.
- Post the Henty Gold acquisition, Kaiser Reef Ltd (ASX:KAU) has the potential to become a 50kozpa+ producer over the medium term with 30kozpa+ from the Henty mine and 20kozpa+ from the A1 Gold mine.
Jafco Co Ltd (8595 JP): Full-year FY03/25 flash update
- Revenue increased by 21.4% YoY to JPY29.7bn, with operating profit rising 53.1% YoY to JPY12.5bn.
- Capital gains reached JPY12.7bn, a 60.0% YoY increase, driven by IPO-related share sales and unlisted shares.
- Total assets under management stood at JPY458.4bn, with JPY198.5bn subject to management fees as of end-March 2025.
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