Superstar Xero a surprising omission from list for investors to add to their portfolios
Mainfreight is a popular pick for a strong performance in 2014 due to its increasing international exposure. Photo / Sarah Ivey
Air New Zealand is the most popular pick by brokers for 2014 riding on the back of strong expectations for profit growth at the national carrier.
Three out of seven brokers chose the airline, whose shares have already risen more than 25 per cent this year.
Rob Mercer, an analyst at Forsyth Barr, said Air New Zealand was heading into 2014 in great shape with earnings expected to increase from those already seen in 2013.
"Air New Zealand (is) poised to deliver several years of strong profit performance."
Mercer said the drivers behind that were improved demand, cost cutting, changes to loss-making long-haul routes and stable fuel prices.
Macquarie analyst Brad Gordon said Air New Zealand had outperformed its airline peers yet it was trading at a cheaper price.
"Air New Zealand's return on equity is around 11 per cent, Qantas is basically zero."
Gordon said that in the past Air New Zealand's value had traded at a discount because of the Government's high level of ownership.
The 20 per cent sold down by the Government in 2013 reduced the overhang issue and increased liquidity in the stock. Trade volumes had been boosted from around half a million dollars a day to around $1.5 million to $2 million.
Gordon said the nature of the New Zealand market meant Air New Zealand stood to benefit from the country's strong economic growth and flow-on effects from the Christchurch rebuild with more people travelling up and down the country.
Outside of Air New Zealand, Diligent, Chorus, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Contact Energy, Infratil and Mainfreight received two picks each.
Diligent, a software providers of corporate board documents, was a top performer in 2012 but this year it has struggled with governance issues and delays in restating its accounts. Its shares have fallen more than 25 per cent.
Gordon was not worried about Diligent having to restate its accounts.
"It's not entirely unusual for new software companies to go through restatements globally."
The big question mark was whether the issue had distracted management and impacted sales for the company. He would be looking closely at quarterly sales figures due out early next year.
Diligent was a top pick for brokers in 2013 but remarkably none of the brokers have picked Xero either this year or for 2014, despite its stellar performance.
Gordon believed that was down to a lack of understanding over Xero's valuation. "The last $15 the company put on really there has been no news. On the face of it it's the most expensive SAAS (software as a service) company on valuation."
Others have zeroed in on companies with strong global growth prospects.
Mark Lister, head of research at Craigs Investment Partners, said he picked Fisher & Paykel Healthcare because the business is growing strongly offshore and was well positioned to continue to deliver over the medium term. "If we see any currency weakness emerge, this would serve to enhance the investment proposition even more," he said.
Lister also picked Mainfreight for its increasing international exposure.
"Mainfreight has a strong brand and market position in Australasia but over recent years, an increasing portion of revenues and earnings have come from international operations including those in Europe and the US.
"A recovery in some of these regions, as well as any strength in the currency, would benefit Mainfreight."
Forsyth Barr's Mercer said he backed Mainfreight because it had a high marginal return on equity, it was beating peers on earnings growth and had a proactive executive team.
"Mainfreight has substantial global growth prospects."
Brokers top picks:
Macquarie Securities
Summerset Group
Diligent
Pumpkin Patch
Air New Zealand
Chorus
First NZ Capital
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare
Hellaby Holdings
Airwork Holdings
Z Energy
Contact Energy
Goldman Sachs
Trade Me
Tower
Air New Zealand
Infratil
Nuplex
Craigs Investment Partners
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
Fletcher Building
Meridian Energy
Mainfreight
Australian Foundation Investment Company
Forsyth Barr
Air New Zealand
Contact Energy
Sky Television.
Mainfreight
Opus International Consultants
McDouall Stuart
Telecom
Diligent
Infratil
Heartland Bank
VMob
*Disclaimer - Before using the Business Herald survey to choose a broker or stocks, readers should recognise that the results are skewed by some features. The figures exclude brokers fees. Brokers are asked to choose the securities that will give the best short-term performance. If they had been asked to choose, for example, a five year term, the results might be different. The survey does not allow brokers to review choices during the year. The survey implies a one-size-fits-all approach. It takes no account of individual circumstances such as an investor's appetite for risk, need for income or tax circumstances. The views expressed do not constitute personalised financial advice and are not directed at any person. Finally, past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
More stockpicks in which you can slavishly salivate over in 2013. Most of them not disclosed. Stockbrokers' stated optimism for the year ahead on local and global sharemarkets is subject to a pretty big proviso: no more global financial crises please.
The catch-phrases of the past few years - the "credit crunch", "the GFC", "euro woes", the debt ceiling - have settled and equities markets could be looking at a second year without catastrophe.
It's not a lofty goal, but JB Were investment strategy group adviser Bernard Doyle says investors can take heart from relative stability, even if growth in their returns isn't spectacular.
"It won't be a blockbuster year for growth but it could be a year where for consecutive years... you haven't had some extreme bouts of risk events or worry about like a European collapse or markets teetering on the abyss again.
"If we get two years in a row where markets aren't concerned about existential threats - threats to the financial system - that will be the biggest achievement."
But there is already a problem on the horizon. The powerhouse United States economy is running out of financial road and heading for a "fiscal cliff".
At the bottom of that particular canyon lies Greek-style austerity measures which would equate to more than 5 per cent of the United States' GDP and lead to an almost certain recession.
However, the American political divide would have to grow to Grand Canyon proportions for a disagreement on government budget policy to push the country into such serious economic repercussions.
On the plus side, China has managed to manoeuvre its economic levers appropriately to avoid the mistakes of the Western economies, said MSL Capital Markets' Peter Elenio.
"Chinese authorities worked so hard to try and take the air out of their economy, to try and learn from Western mistakes, including everything from trying to keep inflation down and making sure that banks didn't lend too much.
"They do actually have the ability to turn the tap on again and I think we're seeing signs of that now."
However Doyle said the New Zealand sharemarket had actually benefited from the recent global stability concerns, as investors looked for off-the-radar equities with high yields, which New Zealand companies specialise in.
Investors were happy to buy cheap then, but will be looking for tangible earnings growth from those companies in the new year, he warned.
"It won't be a 20 per cent [return] year, but we could have a 10 to 15 per cent year quite possibly."
What follows are market leaders' top picks for 2013.
FIRST NZ CAPITAL, ROB BODE, HEAD OF RESEARCH
1. Diligent Board Member Services (DIL): At the intersection of two of the most important mega-trends in computing, namely "software as a service" and the iPad. In 2013 we believe Diligent will demonstrate its ability to generate substantial free cashflow while maintaining high growth rates at the top line.
2. Summerset Group (SUM): Underpinned by ageing population, which will only amplify in coming years as baby-boomers start to retire. We see a busy year in 2013 as Summerset proves that it can achieve much higher build rates across multiple villages.
3. PGG Wrightson (PGW): After an extensive period of restructuring, the outlook for PGW appears to be improving finally. Our enthusiasm is due to growth in rural merchandise sales and anticipated recovery in Australian seed sales, partially offset by weaker livestock revenue and real estate commission. Combined with an improving debt position, we expect the company to resume dividend payments in 2013.
4. Sky Television (SKT): Expected to be a solid performer in the year ahead as focus turns to earnings growth resuming in FY14 following a flat FY13 result. While it is a maturing business model, the recent special dividend highlights SKT's strong cashflow generation.
5. Kathmandu (KMD): Continues to enjoy decent same-store sales growth, highlighting ongoing strength in its sector, which should translate into higher earnings now that new systems and distribution centres have been bedded down. KMD share price to earnings multiple (10 times) is still undemanding, and with good execution could exceed current earnings estimates.
1. Goodman Fielder (GFF): With a dividend yield in excess of 4.5 and 6 per cent growth, GFF could be priced at up to a 40 per cent premium to market price to earnings ratio [pe] multiples.
2. Oceania Gold (OGC): We forecast gold production reaching 320,000 ounces in 2013 and 350,000-plus ounces by 2014, up from 230,000 in 2012. At the same time, we expect cash costs to fall almost 40 per cent to average below $650 per ounce once [Philippines-based gold copper project] Didipio is in full production. We continue to believe that the significant production growth will be the catalyst leading to a re-rating for the stock.
3. Pumpkin Patch (PPL): with FY13 shaping up as a year of consolidation, PPL appears well positioned to deliver strong medium-term earnings-per-share [EPS] growth, enjoy the flexibility of not being handicapped by out-of-the-money hedges, rebuild the Pumpkin Patch brand, expand Charlie & Me, reduce working capital commitments and pay an appealing dividend.
4. Ryman Healthcare (RYM): has a unique needs-based model (ie aged-care-heavy), and remains the market leader in a sector with both favourable economics and attractive long-term growth driven by demographics.
5. Restaurant Brands (RBD): offers an appealing blend of solid dividend and share-price growth as it leverages its core capabilities, firstly with the introduction of Carl's Jr, and potentially in the future with other, complementary brands.
JB WERE [NZ], BERNARD DOYLE, INVESTMENT STRATEGY GROUP
1. Fletcher Building (FBU): The stock price has improved a long way from $6 to above $8. We know we're in a housing recovery, not just in Christchurch but also Auckland. The Australian housing market could be on the cusp of recovery. Earnings growth forecast is 15 per cent in 2013, 30 per cent in 2014.
2. Infratil (IFT): The underlying businesses are attractive, but they're not being recognised by the market. We have been quite impressed by earnings growth coming out of some of the underlying businesses - Energy Australia and Z Energy. That makes the stock quite attractive.
3. SkyCity (SKC): The stock price has lagged behind others around it that have moved strongly higher. We think there's valuation support for the company. There are potential catalysts for growth with the Auckland convention centre and potential for expansion of its Australian operations, including $375m investment in Adelaide. It's languished a little bit but we like the quality of the business, we're happy to be patient.
4. Guiness Peat Group (GPG): We still see the intrinsic value of the underlying assets as discounted, and as the company continues to wind up its investments, the gap between underlying value and the market's pricing will narrow. The stock has the most emotional baggage of any in the NZ market. There are a lot of disappointed investors, rightly so. To own that stock, you'd have to be happy to own Coats, its biggest underlying business, and so most likely the one you will be left with.
5. New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG): The management of cash resources of the company has improved markedly, and it's now paying an impressive yield. There's good discipline around its exploration plans. We like having a little bit of oil in the mix, anyway, because if I was looking into 2013 and asking what could go badly wrong, there's still Iran sitting out there with nuclear ambitions.
FORSYTH BARR, ROB MERCER, HEAD OF RESEARCH
1. Mainfreight (MFT): The firm has set out to methodically build a global freight logistics business and its acquisition of Wim Bosman for € 110 million has given MFT a solid footprint into Europe. MFT has a high marginal return on equity through leveraging organic growth from its existing network and earnings growth outpacing the market and its peers. The executive team is proactive and has proven to be highly responsive to changes in market conditions, and it has substantial global growth prospects.
2. PGG Wrightson (PGW): This company has made progress in improving the underlying operating performances of its core rural-services businesses. Its proprietary seed business remains in a strong position with a competitive advantage in its significant research and development facilities. It is focused on reducing debt through the monetisation of its loan portfolio and targeting working capital. Assuming no further drastic climatic condition issues in Australia and New Zealand, we believe PGW is well positioned to achieve solid earnings growth over the medium term.
3. Ryman (RYM): Compelling demographics mean this business continues to deliver a high-quality product that is enjoying increased demand. It has the scale, in-house expertise and development pipeline to capitalise on this demand and is a recognised market leader.
4. SkyCity (SKC): is very well placed for medium-term operational upside from improvements to its Auckland casino and the underlying economic conditions, but the operating environment remains subdued. Encouraging signs at the key Auckland property over the full-year 2012, in particular for the Auckland gaming machines and international business. A strong generator of free cashflow, a sound balance sheet and potential further leverage from the NZ International Convention Centre.
5. Skellerup (SKL): Its model is proactive, seeking to drive operational improvements and the pursuit of new product development in close association with customers.
PETER ELENIO, MSL CAPITAL MARKETS, FINANCIAL ADVISER
1. A2 Corporation (ATM): has experienced strong revenue growth in 2012 with growing appreciation of the health benefits of its products. We expect the ambitious growth strategy and investment over the last two years in expanding into the UK and other key markets will start to show results in the coming year. We anticipate that A2 will be included in the NZX 50 during the next year attracting greater investor interest.
2. Diligent Board Member Services (DIL): One of the real growth stocks of the last three years, it has a global leading position in the provision of software portal services to major corporates. Continues to benefit from margin expansion and increasing compliance requirements imposed by regulatory authorities. Sales penetration in Europe and Asia is expected to drive revenue growth. Diligent is also developing a dividend policy.
3. Skellerup (SKL): Strong dividend yield and focused management has led us to believe that this stock will continue to benefit from greater institutional interest.
4. NZX: 2013 looks very encouraging for listing fees and other revenue streams that NZX should benefit from. The Government's plans for the partial sell-down of some of the state-owned assets and the pipeline of other expected IPOs should drive improved performance. The focus of the new management team on forming strong relationships with all market participants is expected to see benefits.
5. Tower (TWR): Continues to perform well and margin expansion is expected to continue with a lower level of claims in a number of its divisions. The sale of GPG's stake could create the prospect of corporate activity.
Disclosure: Elenio owns shares in Diligent and A2.
In this series of posts I am going to be looking at stocks listed on the NZX in relation to their returns to shareholders over the life of their listing -what shareholders would now see in their back pockets if they had invested in the company IPO. The calculation of returns includes dividends and tax credits.
Infratil Ltd [IFT.NZX] has been a stellar investment for shareholders since its September 1994 listing at an adjusted 50c per share . With $1.02c * in net dividends, 30% more in tax credits (see NZX chart above) and bonus issues; 7:6 bonus issue in 1996 and a 4:3 bonus issue in 1995, gives IFT a 700% return (see chart below for the share price percentage gain against the average of all NZX indexes - does not include dividends, tax credits and the share split in its calculation) and over the nearly 16 year listing of IFT an annual net return of just over 43%**.
This compares to an annual return from the average of all NZX indexes of 12.5%
The sale of Infratil Ltd [IFT.NZ] 3.87% stake in Auckland International Airport to institutions [AIA.NZ] 3 days ago at first look might not seem good news for existing shareholders.
All is not lost however!
Infratil management state that their reason for selling was "consistent with recent capital management initiatives and provided additional flexibility to fund current and future opportunities".
Of course another port sale could be way off in the distance but an investigation into the relaxing of the rules of "sensitive strategic" assets by the National Government earlier this year means that this would be more likely given another bid for the airport.
What is more important to Auckland International Airport shareholders is that the company is doing OK during the current downturn -stagnant profits are all the rage - and is likely to do significantly better in the long term.
The Canadians and Arabs were willing to pay 100% more than the current share price (oh that seems so long ago) so there is still value left in the near monopoly company that is the Auckland Airport.
And that fellow shareholders is the way you should be looking at the Ifratil sale.
With the new National Government in place and the current relaxing of the rules around the RMA, the major planning law that has stopped economic development of New Zealand, we could expect to see developments in other areas of business in regards to relaxing laws and legislation to allow business to flow quicker and therefore more efficiently and more profitably.
A case in point that I would like to regurgitate is the fiasco that ended last year when it was vetoed by the then Labour administration, after over a year of political wrangling, the Auckland International Airport [AIA.NZ] sale saga.
Two suitors were vying for a slice of New Zealand's largest airport, first Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), then the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Both these bids eventually failed.
Both DAE and CPPIB were knocked back for no other than petty political reasons.
After these two bids failed Lloyd Morrison, through his company Infratil [IFT.NZ] and a partnership with the NZ Super Fund, accumulated around 9% of AIA.
Morrison also owns a majority stake in Wellington Airport and was behind a failed proposal to build a second airport in Auckland.
The thing is, since the relaxing of relevant business legislation one might expect the National Government's attitude to allowing private enterprise to do business freely, therefore opening up the possibility of another bid for the Airport-either by one or both of the spurned suitors or from Infratil.
The only impediment is the obvious funding problems now that credit is difficult to obtain.
However, The one most likely to bid would be DAE, because it is backed by massive oil derived financial backing and because Auckland Airport would be strategic to its global plans to expand its infrastructure.
It is interesting to speculate and this scenario isn't that far fetched.
AIA shares have added around 10% over the last few weeks.
Market watchers in North America and Europe may well be asleep as I write this. If you were down in this part of the world you would be watching your portfolio drop once again after NZX investors took their lead from you who are asleep at present. The NZX is down 60 points as I write with the ASX down 165.
My portfolio is down almost 20% from this years highs and the bulk of that drop has been in the last two weeks. Fear has gripped our market and our dollar cross with the US dollar has fallen from an all time high of over 81c to less than 70c as I write because foreign investors are moving their Kiwi investments offshore for "safer" risks. I am not selling and will not sell but my main problem at the moment is when to buy more of what I already hold. There are 4 stocks out of the 11 that I hold that have fallen below their original purchase price but they seem to becoming cheaper and cheap by the day. I wait with my finger poised on the buy button on my computer screen. One stock I am looking at more closely, now that the Summerset Retirement float has been cancelled today, is my holding in RymanHealthcare (RYM) the Retirement home operator. It is looking tasty but could go lower. Opportunities also abound in NZs Blue chips. Telecom New Zealand(TEL) is due a 14c dividend soon and is trading well down. Fletcher Building (FBU) has been given a right troweling as of late, with a 23c dividend due and Sky City Casino (SKC) has its chips down a few days before their full year announcement on Monday 21 August. Auckland International Airport (AIA) has news that just over 6% of its shares have been purchased by Infratil (IFT) in conjunction with a Government Retirement fund, a potential blocker of a merger between AIA and Dubai International Aerospace. Strangely AIA shares are up today. Steel and Tube (STU) the steel maker and supplier, have announced a 10% profit decrease today on increased business costs and increased revenue. A 14c dividend waits in the wings for STU shareholders. Fisher and Paykel Appliances(FPA) has announced that they are moving their electronics division to Thailand. It will share a factory roof with the washer division that announced plans to move there earlier this year. 96 jobs will go from South Auckland with a saving to FPA of 6 million dollars. Meanwhile the Labour Government is in trouble with its voters because the partially State owned and listed airline , Air New Zealand (AIR) has been carrying Australian troops to get them to theatres of war in the Middle East, something that cuts against the beliefs of Labour ministers and a minority of over vocal New Zealanders. The share price landed sharply. On a much lighter and perhaps tasty note, for the third day in a row Burger Fuel(BFW) has failed to trade. www.shareinvestorforum.com
