AST
AST has become the latest in a now long line of infrastructure related corporate activity. The desire for high, stable, economically resilient margins, underpinned by regulated, monopoly-like essential services assets, continues.
AST appeared expensive, to our minds, prior to the proposed takeover…
…and now looks very much like an outlier, when controlling for Quality and Value exposures.
AST now needs to grow, to justify the new valuation.
Historically, that growth has been hard to come by, particularly in the last few years, with a number of regulatory decisions going against them.
To achieve a market like ex-ante rate of return of 7% (by decapitalising the implied future NPAT and visually comparing the resultant earnings trajectory) AST have quite a task in front of them.
Of course, if you are a pension fund with a very low (near zero!) cost of capital, well, such a trajectory might well face a very different effective discount rate.
Important Information: This document has been prepared by Aequitas Investment Partners ABN 92 644 165 266 (“Aequitas”, “our”, “we”), a Corporate Authorised Representative (no. 1284389) of C2 Financial Services, (Australian Financial Services Licensee no. 502171), and is for distribution within Australia to wholesale clients and financial advisers only.
This document is based on information available at the time of publishing, information which we believe is correct and any opinions, conclusions or forecasts are reasonably held or made as at the time of its compilation, but no warranty is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. To the extent permitted by law, neither Aequitas nor any of its affiliates accept liability to any person for loss or damage arising from the use of the information herein.
Please note that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
General Advice Warning: This document has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and therefore you should consider its appropriateness, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. Before making any decision about whether to acquire a financial product, you should obtain and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or Investor Directed Portfolio Service Guide (IDPS Guide) and consider talking to a financial adviser.
Taxation warning: Any taxation considerations are general and based on present taxation laws and may be subject to change. Aequitas is not a registered tax (financial) adviser under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 and investors should seek tax advice from a registered tax agent or a registered tax (financial) adviser if they intend to rely on this information to satisfy the liabilities or obligations or claim entitlements that arise, or could arise, under a taxation law.