Added fairly a bit to this and assume it’s a greater alternative now than it has been for fairly some time resulting from catalysts which seem not far away.
As of writing its a c5% weight.
Transient abstract, Anglo Japanese Plantations is a household holding firm concerned in palm oil plantations which has had a generational change of administration, hopefully resulting in a change in technique. Lim Siew Kim held 51% and died on 14th July 2022. She was the daughter of the patriarch of the big Malaysian Genting group (largely motels).
The market cap is round £337m while it has c£223m in money / brief time period investments. There’s c£200m in plant and money (put up capex together with development capex) generated value c£69.5m – or c20% of the market cap, or to place it one other approach c60% of the ex-cash market cap. That is primarily based on sturdy palm oil costs, that are roughly double potential lows on the 25 12 months chart… In addition they course of purchased in palm oil and have rubber plantations.
It’s tough to work out what that is really value. For those who have a look at worth per hectare MP Evans stated an unbiased valuation put it at c$15’000-$20’700 / hectare. AEP has about 90’000 hectares (much less in actuality as not all can be utilized / planted), it additionally has planted 67’000 hectares (report P5). Placing it collectively offers a excessive worth of $1.4bn / £1.1m – so roughly c3x the present value. I’ve my doubts as to this valuation – as it might imply that (primarily based on final years revenue, from a 12 months with excessive palm oil costs – we’d be buying and selling at 10 PE (ignoring the money) – appears somewhat excessive… (related multiples vs FCF). To place this in context, Indonesian rates of interest are 5.75%. When it comes to comparators 1961.KL trades at a PE of 24 however are a far bigger participant. Genting Plantations (GENP:KLS) is on a PE of 11 (with some debt), then once more Sarawak Oil Palms (SOP:KLS) is on a PE of 4.5, once more with some debt. Even when we worth earnings at 4.5x we get to £312m plus 223m money plus one thing for the plant I presume (£100m) – so nearly double present market cap… Finally, to me, it’s laborious to justify the present valuation.
In fact there are a lot of firms buying and selling under what they’re value, notably primarily based in Asia with a dominant, household shareholder. The corporate has acted just about as an successfully useless holding firm for years, accumulating money, paying a minimal dividend and rising it’s personal ebook worth per share. In it’s defence just a few years in the past a lot of it’s bushes have been younger / immature and through the years they’ve regularly elevated their planted space – from 57’100 hectares in 2012 to 75’204 hectares in 2021 (P53). As oil palm bushes take 6 years to grow to be maximally productive we will anticipate some ongoing development in manufacturing.
I imagine the change in administration will result in a change in how the corporate operates to a extra shareholder-friendly mannequin. Of their newest announcement they stated they’d think about shopping for again shares.
The Board has additionally been receiving growing requests from shareholders to purchase again AEP’s shares with the money steadiness. The Board has previously been reticent on share purchase backs due to the dearth of proof {that a} purchase again immediately ends in an elevated share value, particularly with the dearth of liquidity of the Firm’s share and purchase backs might trigger the shares to be extra illiquid. Nonetheless, the Board has taken on board shareholders’ sentiments and can think about launching a modest purchase again programme in a well timed method and at a environment friendly value. Additional particulars will likely be communicated to shareholders sooner or later. The final time AEP purchased again its shares was in 2007 with a purchase order of fifty,000 shares at £3.86 per share.
The dividend has additionally quadrupled to 25c per share (0.20 GBP) – giving a yield of c2.3%. There has additionally been a director purchase of £126k, from what I can see the primary transaction in lots of, a few years, previous to the dividend / buyback announcement. That is notably vital because the exec shopping for shares will get paid $87k/£70k per 12 months by the corporate. It’s a little tough for them to buyback shares as the main shareholder is already at 51% and their shares are reasonably illiquid.
One of many issues I like is that the entire board solely will get paid just a few hundred ok. I’m very very sick of managements being ridiculously paid, while taking zero danger and including little or no. It reveals the benefit of a robust, controlling shareholder – in stopping snouts going within the trough. Having stated that corruption is a drawback in Indonesia and in the palm oil sector extra typically, although I’ve no proof / particular suspicion Anglo Japanese is concerned.
I typically keep away from firms with such a dominant controlling shareholder however will tolerate it on this occasion, I typically choose a steadiness of energy amongst shareholders, I’ll look ahead to associated celebration transactions / different shenanigans.
My hope for that is that there will likely be extra shareholder pleasant actions – it doesn’t make sense to run this as a perpetual money accumulation machine, finally it both wants to amass / pay out money / each. I’m fairly comfortable that they preserve a retailer of money, even that they preserve a considerable money steadiness – I’m conscious it’s inefficient, from a strict perspective – however the issue with utilizing credit score is you might be at all times on the mercy of your collectors – and if you want cash no-one desires to lend. That is notably a priority in agriculture which is topic to illness / local weather in addition to probably risky pricing. Having stated this, the money is 3 years value whole bills (excluding palm’s purchased in for processing – very a lot a cross by / margin incomes enterprise). This can be a ridiculous quantity by any measure. I imagine a considerable quantity will be returned to shareholders.
The worst case situation for me is that nothing occurs, on this occasion I’d counsel a probable value can be within the 600p-900p vary. If the corporate is run in a extra rational, shareholder pleasant approach its a probable double or extra, however at comparatively low danger, I’d hope it should occur in a 12 months or two. Some chance of a buyout/ commerce sale if the controlling shareholder desires it.
This could include a well being warning that a lot of my concepts haven’t labored notably nicely of late. I’m really solely down c4-6% ytd (S&P+10%, FTSE+5%) although it appears like I’m down much more. When issues have labored out for me – PTAL / KIST rises are very restricted and never sustained, when occasions have gone in opposition to me falls are excesssive and sustained (GKP / JSE). One technique to play this might be brief time period buying and selling – getting the 20% spikes the place attainable and rapidly getting out on the first signal of hassle. Nevertheless, the commodity producing shares I’m investing in of late are buying and selling at (usually low) single digit PE’s with sturdy steadiness sheets (typically) so I feel they are going to rerate considerably in time, probably very quickly. I’m not satisfied buying and selling is the best way to go long run, hopefully this view will repay in the long term. The market actually doesnt like commodity producers, just about at any valuation, notably non-ESG compliant ones.
As ever, views appreciated.