OC Premium Small Companies Fund Fund Update | 30 April 2019
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OC Premium Small Companies Fund Fund Update | 30 April 2019 Performance comparison of $100,000 over 10 years* $600,000 Fund up 6.3% for the Fund $460,930 6.3% month $500,000 $400,000 Returned 16.5% p.a. for 16.5% the past ten years $300,000 Index $204,774 $200,000 We remain confident the Fund will continue to deliver attractive long-term returns $100,000 $- Apr 09 Apr 10 Apr 11 Apr 12 Apr 13 Apr 14 Apr 15 Apr 16 Apr 17 Apr 18 Apr 19 $ OC Premium Small Companies Fund $ S&P/ASX Small Ords Acc Index Total returns 3 yrs 5 yrs 7 yrs 10 yrs % Incep % . p.a. At 30 April 2019 † 1 mth % 3 mths % 1 yr % % p.a. % p.a. % p.a. p.a. (Dec 2000) OC Premium 6.3 9.3 9.2 11.8 11.3 13.6 16.5 11.4 S&P/ASX Small Ords Accum 4.1 11.0 7.2 11.8 9.1 5.2 7.4 6.2 Outperformance 2.2 -1.8 2.0 0.0 2.2 8.4 9.1 5.2 S&P/ASX Small Ind Accum 6.3 14.3 13.0 11.5 10.2 10.4 11.3 6.8 Outperformance 0.0 -5.0 -3.8 0.3 1.1 3.3 5.3 4.7 Performance review iron ore majors maintaining their production levels in the coming years. It is, therefore, unlikely that these projects The OC Premium Small Companies Fund bounced would be cancelled regardless of what transpires in the strongly in April with broad based strength across the global economy because this would result in the iron ore portfolio driving a +6.3% return for the month. This was producers having significantly smaller businesses going ahead of the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation forward. In a promising sign, NWH has already been Index, which was up 4.1%, and in-line with the S&P/ASX awarded some early works on BHP’s South Flank, FMG’s Small Industrials Accumulation Index which was up 6.3% Eliwana and RIO’s Koodaideri projects. for the month. Core fund holding, Seven Group Holdings, (SVW, +11.3%), One of the key stock contributors was NRW Holdings announced a sizable (albeit not unexpected) profit upgrade (NWH, +24.4%) which has been a solid performer for and stated that it now sees underlying EBIT on a continuing the Fund this financial year as it continues to re-rate basis to be up approximately 40% on FY18, well in-excess on the back of consistent operating performance and a of the 25% underlying growth anticipated at the start of strong pipeline of opportunities. NWH is well positioned the financial year. SVW has been a beneficiary of the strong to deliver an excellent FY19 result with the company domestic commodity cycle via its wholly owned WesTrac upgrading earnings in the first half and continuing to subsidiary, which holds the Caterpillar dealerships in WA, announce incremental contract wins into the second NSW and ACT, and to a lesser extent through plant hire half. The company has a forward order book of around business, Coates Hire, and its energy assets, which include $2.4 billion and it ought to be debt free by the end of a 28.6% stake in the ASX listed Beach Energy (BPT). the financial year. The NWH civil business is in line to win a significant amount of work in the coming years WesTrac has been a stellar performer with the servicing on the back of the iron ore replacement and sustaining segment of the business particularly robust, driven by tonnes projects from BHP, RIO and FMG which have machine rebuilds and customers executing sophisticated approval to begin construction and are critical to the maintenance programs to productively extend machine OC Premium Small Companies Fund Fund Update | 30 April 2019 age. Not all has gone to script as the weakness in the the brand in FY20, particularly in the key Chinese and Coates Hire business has carried over from the first half US markets which will be the key growth drivers for the with delays in major project commencements continuing business in the foreseeable future. We remain optimistic into the third quarter, particularly in Queensland which about the long term future of the A2 Milk business and it has been impacted by unseasonably wet weather remains a core portfolio holding. and floods. The bodes well into FY20 as these major east coast infrastructure projects ramp up, given the Austal Limited (ASB, +18.7%) has enjoyed a nice re- strong operating leverage in the Coates business. SVW rating since being added to the portfolio early in April management has a habit of under promising and over following extensive due diligence from the investment delivering so we won’t be surprised to see the full team including a recent site visit to the company’s year SVW result come in ahead of the recently revised support centre in San Diego, USA. Austal is an Australian- guidance and we believe consensus earnings expectations based global ship building company and defence prime for FY20 remain too low for the stock. contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. The company Webjet Limited (WEB, +15.9%) continued to re-rate has grown in stature in recent years following a successful during the month following its strong interim result expansion into the US market where it has established update which highlighted the strong competitive position a large modern shipyard in Mobile, Alabama which is of the company’s B2B division and demonstrated the prime contractor for the US Navy’s Littoral Combat early evidence of the leverage which will come as Ships (LCS) and Expeditionary Fast Transport Vessels (EPF) the business scales up. WEB is an online consumer programs. Austal has more recently increased its Asian (B2C) and wholesaler (B2B) travel company offering shipbuilding capabilities by opening a manufacturing accommodation, flights, packages, cruises, car rental, facility in Vietnam to complement its facility in the motorhomes and associated travel products and services Philippines and Vietnam which, coupled with its with operations in Middle East, the Americas, Asia and Aulong JV in China, gives the company a significant cost Europe. Most investors will be familiar with WEB’s B2C advantage over most global peers. business (the traditional Webjet online business) which continues to grow at three times the rate of the overall ASB is gaining a reputation building high quality, cost market. Investors are typically less familiar with the B2B competitive vessels that can service both military and “web-beds” business, which is involved in the online commercial needs at a time when the opportunity provision of hotel rooms to digital partners and is now set in both sectors is expanding. The company has an the number two player globally and continues to take order book of around $5.2 billion, a strong pipeline of market share. Whilst there was not a specific catalyst for opportunities with the US Navy and excellent recent the stock during the month, management presented at track record of operational execution at a time when two major broker conferences where they focussed on that navy is committed to expand its fleet. Additionally, articulating the growth plan for the B2B hotels business ASB’s sustaining and support business has been gaining which has the potential to be the driver of earnings momentum and growing revenue at a compound rate of growth for several years to come. 30% per annum underpinned by US Navy work. This has the potential to be a +$400m revenue opportunity for the A2 Milk (A2M, +17.2%) was a strong performer for the business in the next three years. Additionally, ASB ought Fund after holding its investor day early in the month to benefit from the start of a global high-speed ferry which highlighted the company’s continuing evolution replacement cycle which is being driven by an increasing from a branded Australian liquid milk and infant formula demand for fast ferries, an ageing global fleet and more business into a rapidly growing global nutrition firm. onerous environmental regulations. The company has Management is doing an exceptional job of building a strong pedigree in the high speed ferry space and a premium dairy business, leveraging its intellectual has significant capacity to expand its operations. We property associated with the production and marketing acknowledge that ship building is not without risk but the of ‘A2’ protein-based products. A2M continues to grow ASB management has delivered strong results in recent market share in the large Chinese infant formula market years and has a solid platform for sustainable growth. and following a period of strong revenue growth in the UK and North America, management has been able to We exited our position in GUD Holdings (GUD; -0.9%) demonstrate a pathway to profitability in those markets. during the month as we became more cautious about In early May, A2M released a third quarter trading its earnings outlook. GUD operates in the manufacture update which reiterated the prior 41% revenue growth and importation, distribution and sale of automotive rate for FY19 and EBITDA margin guidance of 31-32%. products and water pumps. The weaker Australian dollar Management is investing in increased marketing activities is a short-medium term headwind for many Australian and has highlighted a further commitment to building based importers, including GUD. Whilst key GUD products OC Premium Small Companies Fund Fund Update | 30 April 2019 dominate their categories, maintaining margins in the soft economy with the consumer doing it tough with face of increasing cost of goods sold (driven by a weaker negligible real wages growth, falling house prices and AUD) requires players such as GUD to be able to pass on tight credit conditions weighing on the outlook for price rises to their end customers.