When it takes me less than 15 minutes to update and reconcile my financial model for a company, then that tells me the result is quite clean.
I think that, when you grow your earnings but almost 10% during a time when one of your biggest markets is under acute pressure, and especially when you have not pulled back on the expense line (in fact, quite the opposite... investment in operating expenses has actually accelerated [*] over the course of the year), then that to me is quite a big statement about the nature of the ARB beast.
My hope is that the stockbroking fraternity, as is its wont, deems 8% NPAT growth to be insufficient to support a 20-something P/E multiple and the stock gets aggressively sold off.
Please sell it off.
Pleeez.
Pleeez.
[*] The largest cost item, namely Employee Expenses, increased by 12% on pcp in the JH16, compared to being up 6% in the DH15. And the disconcertingly vague item named "Other Costs", which is the second-biggest single cost element, was up 31% in JH16 compared with pcp, and was up 11% on pcp in DH15).
ARB Price at posting:
$17.95 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)