Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve…hindsight wisdom re Kotipizza

I don't know why I'm doing this. I had done quite a lot of work on Kotipizza but did not make a decision on buying it. Waited and procrastrinated all that, waiting for lower prices etc. And did nothing, and now the stock had a big move (at the time it was below 5 and as …

Medical Investment Trust: Private investment company 0.57 P/B

Background Medical Investment Trust (MIT) is an investment company from Finland traded at private/OTC markets. It last traded at 0.57 P/B valuation despite lower fees than index fund and decent performance, presumably due to VERY low liquidity and no public reporting, not even a website. MIT used to be listed in the 80's and was …

Ferronordic Machines: Russia, P/E 5 and 30% growth

Background Ferronordic Machines is the official Volvo Construction Equipment dealer in Russia. End of 2014 it had 75 dealership all over the country, from St. Petersburg over Siberia all the way up to Vladivostok. It's simple razor and blades business. First sell the machine and then spare parts and service to that machine. Equipment sales …

Few more thoughts on Martela (part 3)

Martela, the largest office furniture designer, manufacturer and distributor in Finland, has been going through a difficult restructuring since 2013 as recession in main markets and change in working habits has reduced office furniture demand. In response Martela has reduced personnel, optimized logistics and manufacturing and hired new CEO, among other organizational changes. As a …

Argo Group: Light at end of the tunnel?

After releasing latest quarterly report story in Argo Group, a hedge fund manager focusing on distressed asset investing in emerging markets, changed significantly for the better. Argo announced that it has agreed to sell one major illiquid asset in the funds that they manage, which verifies that the valuation of the funds now reflects fair value. The verification is …

Elverket Vallentuna revisited: Time for workout?

In recent weeks and months Swedish electricity market regulator has started to publish their decisions on 2016-2019 regulatory period. In addition to maximum amount grid operators are allowed to charge from customers ("revenue cap") they include operating costs and capital expenditures for next four years based on each company's own estimates. The information gives therefore unique …

Martela revisited: Will iPad kill the furniture industry?

Last week I bought 5% position in Martela, one of the largest and oldest office furniture manufacturers in the Nordics. With 0.09 P/S, 0.6x p/b, 46% net gearing and more than 70 years of operating history it seems like decent bargain. With so low P/S multiple the main questions is if Martela is ever going to make …

Cheapest stock of the week: Skånska Energi

Skånska Energi, like Elverket Vallentuna I wrote a couple of weeks ago, benefits from recent court decision which decided that energy regulator had used wrong methods to calculate how much electricity distributors are allowed to charge from their customer in 2012-2015 regulatory period. In addition it ordered new calculation method which implies that electricity distributors, …

Cheapest stock of the week: Technopolis

Asked about rationale behind stock buyback program in analyst call , Technopolis', a Finnish real estate company, management showed rare understanding of this relatively simple concept: "Answer to the question - why [to buy back stock]-  is the obvious. Our view was that the share valuation is so attractive that it was irresistible ". Anyone …

Cheapest stock of the week: Argo Group Limited

Argo Group Limited is a hedge fund manager with 177 MUSD AUM specialized in distressed asset investing trading at 0.3 P/B multiple. With 26 MUSD book value and 7 MUSD market price the stock looks cheap but the problem is that most of its assets are exposed to targets which are extremely illiquid and valuations …