WET SATURDAY MUSINGS AND SOME NEW BUYS - 07/01/23

So, another year has been ushered in, which will hopefully result in a better performance than 2022, which on a personal level was my first overall negative result for many years.   

Importantly though, I trust the year is firstly healthy for all those visiting the blog and out there in Twitter land, along of course with some profitable investments and returns.

Given that we are just recovering from the Christmas festivities, I have yet to undertake any interviews, but do have a few coming through in the next couple of weeks.

As far as my investments go, the likes of RDT which I got badly wrong along with a few other speculative punts dragged the total performance down into negative territory.

In contrast though, a number of my more stable and fundamentally sound holdings have been performing positively enough, with the likes of SDI holding up reasonably well, along with strong performances from Fonix and Calnex, particularly in the context of how the market has been performing over the last year.

Additionally, I was fortunate enough to make some positive returns at the blue-chip end of the market, buying BP and BAE just prior to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and both subsequently did well, although I probably sold a little too early.

Moving on to the start of this New Year, interestingly, there has been some positive territory achieved over the last week, as investors tune into what they consider undervalued situations, along with tucking into some chunky dividend payers.

Even some of the neglected and more recently frowned upon growth stocks have attracted some interest, one of which on a personal note was GetBusy (GETB) where the shares closed up 10% yesterday, having at one point been 12% to the good.

GETB is a share I have been holding for some years now, with an entry price of circa 37p, but where I topped sliced close to £1.00 and subsequently added back in the mid 60p range.

Apologies on this one in terms of coverage, where it hasn’t really featured as it should, particularly as I have visited a few times and spoken regularly with management.

Still, I plan to put that right in due course as this SaaS focused business which enjoys incredible recurring revenue is making positive progress on the growth front.

Although still pre-profit as it continues to plough money back into the business to drive that growth, the signs and updates from the company suggest this Cambridge based company is one I should continue to stick with.

At a current 68p I am hopeful of seeing some decent returns from this point over the next year-18 months and beyond, although obviously the economic headwinds can clearly impact on the performance of any business in the short term.

I also made a couple of purchases last week, those being Venture Life Group (VLG) and Sanderson Design (SDG) both of which look very good value.

In the case of Sanderson which was formerly known as Walker Greenbank, I should be speaking with CEO Lisa Montague in the next week or two, so I will be conducting a full and hopefully lengthy write up on this one.

Suffice to say, the company is a top end player in the designing and manufacturing of wallpapers, fabrics and specialist paints, most of which I am familiar with, due to having spent many years in the painting and decorating business.  

As part of my research into this one, I recently managed to speak to some of the guys I know still running their own decorating businesses as to their thoughts and experience of Sandersons offerings, such as William Morris, Harlequin and Zoffany.

Suffice to say, my straw pole came out with a big thumbs up for the company, which provided me with another tick to other positives, of which there are a number.

Obviously being in the retail/discretionary spend area of business, headwinds are clearly there and it is something I have certainly factored in.  

That said, SDG operates at the upper end of the market with quality being a prime focus along with an increasing reach across to the massive US market.

The management team (previously revamped) is now extremely strong and led by Montague who has a seriously sound track record and background.

I’ll add my write up on this one in due course, but with the shares currently at £1.19, I feel any potential near term downside is already factored in.

The shares trade on a single digit PE of 9, where there are excellent growth prospects for the mid-longer term, supported by a sound balance sheet and what appears to be a visionary board.  

My other purchase this week VLG is no stranger to me as I held it previously and did very well, prior to management blotting their copybook which saw my exiting with a sound profit.   

The shares subsequently headed sharply southwards last year as the performance of the business endured a number of issues.

However, being in the personal health care space where its products are bought over the counter in supermarkets and pharmacies the company is operating a buy-build model where it has recently announced further additions to the group.

Looking at the forecasts in conjunction with what appears to be an improving picture and importantly performance, the shares trading on a PE of little more than 8 look very good value.

Granted, it is another one at the mercy of discretionary spend but with consumers increasingly looking to self-medicate or ensure their own health well-being, prospects may well prove more resilient than currently envisaged and the caution being attributed to it by the market.  

Again, I will return to this one in the next week or two with a in-depth write up and hopefully a call with management if that can be firmed up.