In today’s briefing:
- Fast Retailing (9983) | Buying Opportunity Ahead of Q2 Results
- The Toyota Way Is Not to Rush, but to Gain a Foothold and Proceed with Caution
- MIXI Inc. (2121 JP) – A Potentially Game-Changing Deal
- (Mostly) Asia M&A, Mar 2025 Wrap: ENN Energy, Gold Road, Spartan, Aeon Delight, Sinarmas, Topcon
- Asahi Intecc (7747 JP): Softer H2 Expected; Positive Long-Term Outlook Amid Tariff Noises
Fast Retailing (9983) | Buying Opportunity Ahead of Q2 Results
- Fast Retailing (9983 JP) is set to report its second-quarter results on April 10, and we see an opportunity to buy ahead of a strong earnings release
- We expect Fast Retailing to post Q2 sales of ¥905bn (+15% YoY), above consensus estimates of ¥881bn. EBIT projected at ¥133bn (+21% YoY), ahead of street expectations of ¥125bn.
- Domestic Uniqlo monthly sales and quarterly results from global peers suggest strong sales momentum.
The Toyota Way Is Not to Rush, but to Gain a Foothold and Proceed with Caution
- It’s unlikely that the transition to ‘company with audit committee’ will enhance the supervisory function, but it’s likely to speed up the decision-making process by delegating authority to executive directors.
- Instead of achieving 30% female board member and moving to Company with US-type 3 Committees at once, Toyota will implement Toyota’s way firmly with BOD that is half independent directors.
- The only way for Toyota, which faces several governance challenges, to uphold tradition of Toyoda family being at the top of management is to make the returns expected by investors.
MIXI Inc. (2121 JP) – A Potentially Game-Changing Deal
- MIXI has announced an all-cash deal worth ¥35.2bn for PointsBet Holdings (PBH), an Australian sports and racing online betting company operating in Australia and Canada.
- The deal is due to close in mid-June 2025. We view this transaction as aligned with MIXI’s strategies of business diversification and overseas expansion, leveraging the expertise gained from TIPSTAR in Japan’s keirin and auto-race betting businesses to enter the Australian market, thereby accelerating the growth of both TIPSTAR and PointsBet.
- MIXI is demonstrating a positive and active allocation of its capital, with a high intent to accelerate the development of its Sports business and make it a key earnings pillar.
(Mostly) Asia M&A, Mar 2025 Wrap: ENN Energy, Gold Road, Spartan, Aeon Delight, Sinarmas, Topcon
- For the month of March 2025, 13 new transactions (firm and non-binding) were discussed on Smartkarma with an overall announced deal size of ~US$14bn.
- The average premium for the new transactions announced (or first discussed) in March was ~53%, with a year-to-date average also of 55%.
- The average premiums for transactions in 2024 (129 transactions), (2023 (117), 2022 (106), 2021 (165), 2020 (158), and 2019 (145 ) were 43%, 39%, 41%, 33%, 31%, and 31% .
Asahi Intecc (7747 JP): Softer H2 Expected; Positive Long-Term Outlook Amid Tariff Noises
- Asahi Intecc (7747 JP) announced double-digit growth across all the key parameters in H1FY25. Market share expansion of medical division and favorable Fx drove growth.
- Reiteration of FY25 guidance implies a softer H2 performance. In H2FY25, revenue is expected to increase 4% YoY, while both operating and net profit are likely to decline.
- The U.S. contributes ~20% of medical division’s revenue of Asahi Intecc, which is lower than other large Japanese medtech companies. This should limit tariff exposure.
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