I noticed that Aspo doesn’t have its own thread yet, so let’s create one.
Aspo is one of the “last of the Mohicans” when it comes to conglomerates: Aspo owns four subsidiaries, the most significant being the shipping company ESL Shipping. The others are chemical distributor Telko, Leipurin, and Kauko. Aspo’s specialty is its strong focus on Russia and other eastern markets, from which many Finnish companies have withdrawn in recent years.
Looking at revenue and dividends, Aspo has sailed quite steadily over the last 10 years:
For some reason, Aspo hasn’t sparked any discussion yet
Yesterday, the company’s diversified story saw significant, though not entirely unexpected, news as Aspo writes down Kauko and its parts will be sold/restructured. Kauko has been the “problem child” of the Aspo family from the very beginning. Due to the write-down, the company also issued a negative outlook for the rest of the year.
Here’s Olli’s morning comment on the topic:
“We consider the controlled shutdown of Kauko to be the correct solution, as the company has been underperforming for a long time, and its operating profit has been around zero or slightly negative. Last summer, Kauko already ceased its loss-making software development operations.”
From Sauli’s March report:
“Leipurin is a service company that operates in the markets of bakery and confectionery products, the food industry, and, in accordance with its renewed strategy, also in the out-of-home (OOH) eating market. The solutions offered by Leipurin include product range development, recipes, raw materials, training, and equipment, all the way to point-of-sale design.”
I’ve been invested in Aspo since the previous CEO’s tenure, and after he moved to the board, Aki Ojanen has continued to advocate for shareholder interests. I like this kind of long-term perspective, and I’ve bought more shares for my portfolio during dips.
With interest rates now (perhaps) turning upwards, I’m a little concerned about the company’s debt, but they’ve always managed it before
It fell a little short of our expectations, as the comparison period was weak due to cold weather. IFRS16 only marginally increased operating profit by EUR 0.2 million. Below is what was expected.
At least Q3 clearly fell short of both our and consensus expectations. ESL’s earnings improvement was clearly more subdued than we expected, and counter-cyclical Telko’s earnings weakened significantly.
Yes, the KaukoTelko acquisition left a lot in hand. The arrangement made in 2008 was actually very good for the shareholders. Here are a couple of pictures from our extensive report (Tulosparannus yhä selvemmin varustamon harteilla - Inderes):
ASPO Plc
Inside Information
November 20, 2019 at 2:45 p.m.
Profit Warning: Aspo Lowers Its 2019 Guidance
Aspo Plc has decided to lower its guidance for the full year 2019 based on its estimated results for the last quarter.
The reasons for lowering the guidance are significantly lower-than-expected transport volumes in the steel industry in the Group’s shipping business and a significant decrease in demand from industrial customers in Telko’s Western markets.
New guidance
Aspo’s operating profit in 2019 will be higher than in 2018 (EUR 20.6 million).
Old guidance
Aspo’s operating profit will be EUR 24–30 million (20.6) in 2019.
Aspo will publish its financial statements release for 2019 on February 13, 2020.
ASPO Plc
Aki Ojanen
CEO
Further information:
Aki Ojanen, CEO of Aspo Plc, tel. +358 9 5211, +358 400 106 592
DISTRIBUTION:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Key media www.aspo.fi
another warning. It was nice to exit at the 8.6 level. Soon I might consider buying, as long as the price gets LOW enough!
