Career Update 📢
Today onwards I embark on my entrepreneurial journey with Xylem Investments, a boutique Investment outfit 😁 ⚡
🇮🇳 holds massive wealth creation opportunities for Indians and thus I am thrilled about what lies ahead with Xylem
Onwards & 🚀
Selling at the right time > Buying at the right time
In my investing journey, some of the sell signals have proven to be quite effective
In hindsight, would have avoided giving away a lot of tuition fees if I would have followed these
Here it is🧵, hope you like it!
An interesting trend in chemicals
Insider action in the space over August has 2/3rds sells!
Investors remain bullish on chemicals, Insiders sell on the way up...
Enjoyed presenting at the
@cvocain
's capital market conference
Attempted a top-down analysis in Pharma to spot:
- Dominant IPM Franchisee
- Sweetly positioned exports play
Do have a look and let me know your views :)
Ingrevia's Q2FY22
Interpretation of nos & understanding of business matters
1) Today's fall suggest over expectation as many extrapolated Q1 results
It wasn't the right base - had inventory gains and record high spreads
Acetyl margins: 27% in Q1 vs 14% in Q2 & 11% on avg
1/n
From being valued at INR 250 pre-demerger on a SOTP basis to INR 125 today, it's been quite a journey!
A lot has changed for Piramal Pharma, or has it?
Sharing my observations / views on this 🧵
Since IC, Ingrevia is up >2.4x in less than 4 months!
Still trades at 11x FY23E EV/EBITDA
Painted as a commodity company but gets >70% of its profits from specialty
Ramp-up of Diketene, CDMO, Agro-Chem a key re-rating trigger
New note post Q4FY21-
Initiated Coverage on Jubilant Ingrevia, to be listed tomorrow
Leadership in Pyridines, Acetlys, and Vitamin derivatives. Forward integration to be key margin driver
Its competitor Laxmi Org to list @ EV/EBITDA ~32x vs Ingrevia at ~6x
Report Link:
Finally IC on JB Chem
>85% of domestic sales from dominant brands; high brand equity, rich return ratios
Initiatives by the KKR led management to support EBITDA expansion
SOTP: Domestic at 7x EV/Sales + Others at 4x EV/Sales
TP ₹2000; trades at 26x FY23 PE
Report 👇
Initiated Coverage on Jubilant Ingrevia, to be listed tomorrow
Leadership in Pyridines, Acetlys, and Vitamin derivatives. Forward integration to be key margin driver
Its competitor Laxmi Org to list @ EV/EBITDA ~32x vs Ingrevia at ~6x
Report Link:
Aggressive commentary by CNC cos
Margin Expansion
Jyoti - From 10% FY23 to 25% and above
Macpower - From 12% FY23 to 20% then 25%
Capacity Expansion
Jyoti - 4400 machines to 6000 machines in FY25
Macpower - From 2000 to adding 2000 machines every year for next 5 years 😵💫😵💫😵💫
All of RJ's sessions in Flame Investment labs are a must-watch. Loved the 2012 session the most:
He shares his views on Behavioural Science, Trading, Investing, and Accounting. Sharing my brief notes
@FLAMEUniversity
@Kuntalhshah
Data Centers capex = USD 500bn capex till FY30
But the biggest beneficiaries are not the companies setting up Data Centers but the ancillary suppliers.
Data Center Owners:
Capex = INR 65crs per MW
RoEs = 12-14%
Asset Heavy
Data Center is a new buzz word with real estate
An excellent presentation titled "Good Reasons to Ignore Valuation"
Argues why understanding the business cycle is far more important than the current valuations.
90% of long term value creation is on the back of sales and profit growth!
Excellent Acquisition at ~9x EV/EBITDA
More than 80k MT capacity across surfactants and Emulsifiers.
Double the size of Aarti Surfactants at a third of value 😅
Rossari Biotech the acquires Unitop Chemicals Private Ltd (Unitop Chemicals, company).Total consideration for the acquisition of 100% equity stake is 421cr. To fund acquisition via cash in the balance sheet.
Unitops revenues : 300cr, debt free
Acquisition at 1.4x sales
Some rough analysis on Railways
These cos will require peak orderbook to continue for the next 4 to 24 years for them to recoup the value they are paying right now. Tough!
Interesting Note on Industrials by UBS
New Capex Cycle to be driven:
- Defence (3x by FY30e)
- Electrification (2.3x by FY30e)
- Industrial Automation (4x by FY30e)
Profit pool won't be with EPC players (unlike 2003-08) but with tech-enabled product plays
Thanks Sajal
@unseenvalue
So glad you found it worth your time :) Simply tried to give a basic primer for a wider audience.
Your endorsement is a cherry on the cake. Made my day! Cheers 😁
Last few days will have deep impact on the way I think, Invest and approach life.
Thank you FIL for providing an open access to some of the wisest giants in Investing
Deepest respect for these stalwarts who remain an epitome of humility, generosity and acumen.
@FLAMEUniversity
Changes in EPS estimates post Q2FY21 results for the API universe
Laurus saw the biggest upgrade (47% for FY21, 38% for FY22 and 39% for FY23), now at PE 13x consensus est
Many trading at low double digit multiples. Interesting!
Quick Bites on Somany Home Innovations
- Owner of 'Hindware', expanded into new segments (10x increase in addressable market)
- Fastest Growing CPVC pipes and consumer appliance player
- On FY25 guided numbers, trading at 5.5x EV/EBITDA!
Full report:
Ingrevia Q1FY22 - Simply superb on the back of Acetyls and Spec Chem
Still trades at 11.4x FY23E EV/EBITDA
Spec Chem and Nutrition under appreciated. Contributes >70% of FY23E EBITDA
Acetyls are roaring with robust pricing tailwind; don't know how long will it sustain though!
A family friend of ours gifted shares of Surat Electricity on my first birthday in 1994!
Just out of school, when my share certificates were dematerialised, got Torrent power in return (sweet 27x).
Funded my first Investment with this, best thing ever 😁
I've stopped giving random gifts😅. Only been gifting stocks & ETFs for a while now. Don't have to waste hours choosing the right gift and the best bit: several of my family & friends have started investing because of this.
Btw, if you want to gift👇
1/2
Very strong commentary across the logistics sector
Mahindra Logistics - INR 10kcrs by FY26 (3x from FY21 base) with improving margins
TCI Express - 2x revenue on FY21 + ~300bps margin expansion
Gati - 2x increase in market share + 2x increase in margins by FY25
Since many have asked
7x Sales for a branded domestic franchisee isn't aggresive:
- EBITDA ~40%, High CFs & 0 debt
- 7x Sales implies 23.3x PE or 17.5 EV/EBITDA
- Reverse DCF implies a 7.4% terminal growth; even IPM should do better than this
Hence not aggresive 😅
New note on Alkem Labs
- Operating leverage to kick in with chronic doubling every 3 years and higher margin contribution from US generics
- Margins to improve by >4% on FY20 base with multiples yet to catch up!
FV: INR 4,000 (Upside 35%)
Report:
Big calls by ARK!
- Inflation is transient; Commodities to crash in next 1 yr
- It's a secular deflationary period led by innovation
- Normalised interest rates at 1.5 - 3% (For future growth discounting)
- Skepticism will fuel the bull market in Tech
Interesting Acquisition by Laurus
Valuation of INR 340crs for Richcore (Biotech & Enzyme based chemistry core focus)
Valuation seem to be driven by Capacities (2 fermentation units) and capabilities
Many possible synergies! Concall tomorrow @ 11am.
MCap of all Listed Indian Pharma cos= USD147bn
If it were a single company, It wouldn't even be amongst the Top 10 global pharma companies!
Profit pool was in novel meds and we focused on generics.
Reading more on genomics and looks like we will miss this trend too.
Best investors have concentrated portfolios.
But taking fresh concentrated bet in a mature bull cycle is like playing with fire.
Irrespective of business, have to respect market cycle!
Best Investors go all in only when odds are in favor esp from price and market cycle basis.
As per me, the current generic pricing pressure that some cos are facing is on account of a lack of disruptions/shortages and not a reversal of the pricing cycle
No USFDA inspections & seamless Chinese API supplies have led to much higher inventory in the US. (1/n)
Pyramiding is the best skills to learn be it trading, investing, poker or life. Have to bet more on the winner while cutting loosers quickly.
Something common across all the best traders be it Soros, Livermore, O'Neil etc
Simple but extremely difficult to put it in practice
MDFs to see an additional 80% capacity on the current base of 24lakh CBM over next 3 years!🚨
Incumbents will find it extremely difficult to defend margins
One of my largest winners was Greenpanel (30->500). Lucky to identify it early and sell at peak margins. Always works! 😅
Came across this insightful conversation between the maestro Mr. Vallabh Bhansali and Mr. Navneet Munot.
Totally in awe of Mr. Bhansali, as always. Best way to spend 2 hours this weekend!
@CFASocietyIndia
Interesting, RPSG Ventures wins the bid for Lucknow.
Mcap: INR 2230crs
Stake in FSL: INR 7700crs (55% stake)
To fund the IPL team(INR 7100crs), will they sell FSL? If yes, massive value unlocking.
Not that pricey imo
At 12x EV/ EBITDA for a branded business with 35% + EBIDTA Margins
With JB's channel expertise.. the growth can increase significantly from 11-ish% (Segment leader growing at 40% cagr)
We initiate coverage on Suven Pharmaceuticals, a highly under-researched stock with BUY and Base Case TP of Rs.580 (40% upside).
To read the full report, click here:
Though price hikes in Acetyls remain a key short term trigger
New capex for Diketene derivatives, CDMO and nutrition pre-mixes should be a key re-rating trigger IMO
USFDA non-compliance is not a plant-specific issue but an organization wide issue
Eg:
Lupin's recent USFDA warning letter for Somerset unit mentions repeated violations that were mentioned in previously issued warning letters for the Indian unit between FY17 and FY20
Paints Industry bracing for an acute price war:
- Capacity addition at +22% cagr (FY22-26E)
- Volume growth is just ~12% pa🚨
- Incumbents operating at <70% Utilization
Doesn't look good for Asian Paints, even with a supercomputer. Taking a paper short on this one 😅
Excellent presentation by the stalwart, a must investment of 90mins for any investment professional 👌
The Art Of Investing | Rajashekhar Iyer
via
@YouTube
Got done with marathon sessions in our Institutional conference which saw participation of 40+cos ⚡
Renewables, Commodities and Rural consumption doing extremely well.
Most guided for margin expansion even with record high input costs. Speak volumes about the inherent demand!
With many commodity API cos down more than 50-70% from the top, avoid the itch to bottom fish.
It would be nothing but a hope trade.
Re-enter when there is a *clear* visibility for multi year margins expansion (currently absent for sure) and available at dull multiples
APIs have performed phenomenally well over last 6 months
Next leg of Pharma rally - US generics?
Valuations = at 10 year average
Generic Pricing cycle = beginning to play out
Fresh views on Value Investing by Howard Marks
- Low valuation often lead to value trap
- Era of disruption: steady history doesn’t assure future stability
- Not current/past financials but superior judgments on qualitative factors and future events key for investing success
Unskilled investors stubbornly hold onto their losses when they are small and reasonable
They could get out cheaply, but being emotionally involved, they keep waiting and hoping until their loss gets much bigger and cost them dearly - O'Neil
True for both trading & Investing!
Uber to sell 7.8% stake in Zomato at 14% discount
This won’t be the last seller, many others to line up: Alipay (7.1%), Ant Financials (7%), Soft Bank (5.1%) and many other VCs
With this supply, it won’t end well for the stock price irrespective of the improving fundamentals
New IC on Shalby:
- 2x EBITDA expansion with opex leverage on new hospitals & Implant biz acquisition
- Cost and Capital efficient ops
- Implant biz = massive synergies (largest buyer of implants)
- Ex J&J Asia head to drive the implant biz
Report:
Feedback from cos on ground:
Price hikes are very very sticky
With receding RM costs, don’t see a lot of cos pass the benefits to customers
FY23 thus should see margin expansion in many pockets
If no covid impact, Volumes can naturally be better over FY22 base
US generics is definitely a cyclical like steel
But like steel, there is a time to play it and time to avoid..
Cyclical upturn in steel are fast and furious, generics pricing can also follow?
Best plays - Bottoming out of earnings, US <500mn and strong domestic biz
Zomato is killin it
Food delivery gross order value at INR 320; ~3x in 3 years.
Blinkit GOV is currently at INR 125; but it can increase ~3x in the next 2 years. Another lever for growth being no of orders as it penetrates into more cities.
Blinkit was once an option value
Divi's Molnupiravir API opportunity for FY22E slated to be at $~400mn! Projections seem vvv aggressive imo.
Its an authorized supplier but not sure if its the sole supplier
Suven Pharma signed an MOU for tech transfer, will sell in the domestic market; can compete outside too
Laxmi's QIB book got subscribed 175x and HNI book 218x
Its competitor, Ingrevia, available at a third of Laxmi's multiples
Valuation is an art indeed 😅
We initiated coverage on Jubilant Ingrevia Limited, a global leader in ethyl intermediates, pyridine derivatives and Vitamins, with BUY and a Fair Value of Rs.420.
Find the complete report here:
#MNCL
#Jubilant
#Chemicals
#Market
#Watch
CS intiates Snowflake at TP of USD 250
Using DCF, they arrived at 79.5x EV to Revenue (Yes, revenues! Not profits, not cash flows) 🤯
It is said Valuation is an art. Here, it really is 😅
So chemical is clearly emerging as a consensus contra play
If it’s a multi year story, won’t it make sense to wait for that 1 good qtr before calling the bottom?
As RJ says play seen, not blind. As the market offers an opportunity even after the cards are open!
Update on SHIL
- Purchases manufacturing business from HSIL for INR 630crs
- Can add INR ~70crs EBITDA to FY23 numbers
- Would have liked an asset light business, but this makes it a cleaner structure without complications around the transfer pricing with HSIL
Quick Bites on Somany Home Innovations
- Owner of 'Hindware', expanded into new segments (10x increase in addressable market)
- Fastest Growing CPVC pipes and consumer appliance player
- On FY25 guided numbers, trading at 5.5x EV/EBITDA!
Full report:
PPL CFO in the last call
“Operating margins for H2, we expect a meaningful improvement, and this will largely come in from a higher top line
Expect top line to have mid-teens growth in H2 and that will also lead to improvement in operating margins due to fixed cost leverage” 🧐
MNC Pharma is one of the best Risk-off plays; outperforms healthcare and mid-cap index handsomely
However, if post covid we are in a Risk-on period then...
Some of the best business operators too, in diverse fields
Aditya Puri, Deepak Parekh - Banks
Niranjan Hiranandani - Realty
KM Birla - Commodities
P C Godha of IPCA - Pharma
Emami duo - FMCG
KPIT - IT
A happy CA day to all my fellow chartered accountants.
The biggest turning point of my life was the day I passed my exams& set off on my prof journey
Some of d best stock pickers I’ve met are all CA’s . The finest degree you can get in finance!
#caday
#CharteredAccountantsDay
Excellent blog by Jefferies CEO Rich Handler:
Normalcy Returns Faster Than You’d Think After Financial Crises
Here are the 7 observations from the blog, relevant for Investing & Life (1/8)
As the bull cycle matures, the most recent stock addition in the portfolio is the most dangerous one
Conviction is fresh, allocation may be high.
Managing risk on these new bets more imp than the rewards
JB Chem 13.7% vs IPM growth 1.9%
Consistent outperformance; Top execution
Calcium blockers already >50% market share, still growing >mid-teens
What is their secret sauce?
Highest multiple to highest earnings is always a recipe for disaster.
If peak earnings are behind and margins are expected to erode over next 3-4 quarters, stock is going to de-rate more than you expect.
Update by a company: Q1 results will be impacted as ops were impacted due to covid. Timing?
With just a few days to the results, clearly could have waited or could have mentioned it in the Q4FY21 results in May itself
Disc: No view / No coverage
Looking for an Analyst (Buy Side Role) for a PMS
- Sector Agnostic role
- 2 years+ research experience
- CA (+CFA, MBA added pref)
- Comp industry leading
Please share your resume at: Vinit.Gala
@mnclgroup
.com
Do re-tweet for wider reach. Cheers!
Jubilant Ingrevia:
Q4 was in line with my expectations, had mentioned on the Margin reduction in Acetyls
Believe, new earnings cycle will start for Ingrevia led by CDMO and Spec Chem. New capex initiatives (INR 2050crs) is a big positive. Available at <8x FY25E!
@AmritAshu
@itsTarH
They work on an EBITDA/tonne basis. Hence as the price increase (denominator) and spreads remain the same their margins reduce optically.
Excited to share my latest article - "The Art of Selling", published for the CVOCA magazine
This article delves into strategies and techniques for refining execution skills, ensuring better Investing outcomes.
From understanding market psychology to leveraging on price action,
Beneficiaries of PLI are not the bid winners but their clients
Be it Electronics, Solar, Chemicals etc vendors competing amongst themselves will be compelled to pass large part of their benefits
Assuming PLI benefits to structurally improve margins would be grossly optimistic
Prashant Sir’s farewell letter is a distillation of decades of investing experience across cycles and themes in 12 pgs
My KTAs
- Markets are inefficient in short term but efficient in the long term
- Position sizing most imp wrt risk : reward that opportunity presents
Goat 🐐
4) Over medium term, the Q2FY22 looks like a good base. Absolute EBITDA should increase however Acetyls are margins can drop from here on too!
However on this base, diketene, CDMO capex and nutrition remain key levers for sustainable growth over medium term.
The Winners Checklist from Lee Freeman Shor’s - The Art of Execution
- Best ideas only
- Position size matters
- Be greedy when winning
- Materially adapt when you are losing
- Only invest in liquid stocks
Frontline Pharma is cheap, most of them near their 52w lows. But imho still not the best time to add.
Multiples can expand only when the earnings have visible multi-year tailwinds, which is missing currently.
Leadership is clearly elsewhere, best to focus on those sectors.
A man does not swear eternal allegiance to either the bull or the bear side. His concern lies with being right
- Jesse Livermore, Reminiscence of a Stock Operator
Interesting to see promoter buying in many mid-cap Pharma names over the last 2 months
- Alembic Pharma
- Alkem Labs
- Aarti Drugs
- Strides
Not a trigger, but definitely a positive soft signal.
Disc: None of the stocks are recos.
Price wise generic pharma seems attractive, but should avoid the temptation to buy the dip. They can have some time correction.
Erosion is healthy, shortages are scarce and USFDA audits are delayed
With delays, pipeline is also loosing critical timeshare in the markets
I have been journaling my investment decisions this cycle and has worked like magic for me.
This brings a lot of restraint in terms of impulse buying or selling.
And remains a go-to material for self analysis. As it is said, making mistakes is fine but not the same ones.
3) Acetyls is a volatile business while spec Chem and nutrition is sort of predictable.
Thus, increasing profit share of spec chem and nutrition is a key trigger
Imo, New capex is in the right direction and mix should change considerably from here on
3/n
2) Acetyls is an convertor business hence increase in prices will not lead to an increase in margins!
They earn higher EBITDA/ton but the margins shrink as denominator (prices) have expanded more
Thus, Acetyl segment posted a sales growth of 11% while margins have reduced
2/n
Livermore on Market Bottoms 🧵
He looked for signs of panic selling and extreme pessimism, which he believed indicated that stocks were oversold and undervalued
In "How to Trade in Stocks," Livermore outlines a few indicators to identify market bottoms. These included:
Lee Freeman - Shor's The Art of Execution is one of my all-time favorites
Some of the best Investors had a batting average of 30% and still ended up with decent alpha. Execution matters more than stock picking!
He describes 5 types of trades, let's get right to it 🧵
News Paradox
More news you consume, less well-informed you are
Taleb calls it the noise bottleneck: Consuming more data, the noise/signal ratio increases, so you end up knowing less about what is actually going on
Relevant given the time I've wasted on war, politics, fed etc
Typical boom-bust cycle as per Soros
Suspect we are between C to D phase of the cycle
- Recent markets correction
- Fwd earnings growth (15%+)
- Limited frothiness; Nifty has grown in lines of earnings (last 2 years Nifty earnings = Nifty performance Jan20 onwards = 60%)
Price action precedes fundamentals!
42 chemical cos have announced results as yet. Cumulatively they have:
- Sales down 25% YoY 🚨
- Ebitda down 33% YoY 🚨
- Pat down 40% YoY 🚨
2 consecutive bad qtrs impact sentiments as street extrapolate the recent performance
Spoting cos at the bottom of their earning cycle at low multiples will be very interesting. Best plays:
- US portfolio (<$500mn)
- Complex generics mix
- Decent compliance track record
(3/3)
An excellent primer by
@Arpit_Lahoty
on the economics of SaaS companies and key metrics to track.
In his blog, he writes on interesting concepts related to finance, tech and business. Do have a look!
Depressing to travel to the Western suburbs. The Expressway is a monumental mess. Recall reading that MMRDA was doing an upgrade last year. Not yet complete it seems.
Interesting comparison between hospitals and hotels on multiple operating metrics
Hospitals have delivered consistent growth and command a superior RoCE profile on a cyclically adjusted basis