April 2017
April 2017 Shares of gaming company, Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL), rallied after management upgraded profit growth for the coming year to between 20-30% at the AGM in late February. Although Aristocrat did not detail the key drivers, we expect sales are being driven by market share gains in the US market across its participation gaming business…
April 2017
April 2017 Aged-care operator, Japara Healthcare (ASX:JHC), provides exposure to the strong thematic of Australia's ageing population and its need for high acuity care that many Australians will require. Unlike retirement village living, aged care is not a discretionary decision for many. Japara is currently seeking to grow its total bed numbers via expansion of…
April 2017
The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index added 4.71% for the March quarter, with Health Care and Utilities the top-performing sectors. Telecommunications was the only sector to record a negative return for the period. For the quarter, our flagship Australian shares portfolio returned 5.50%, outperforming the index. Our overweight position in both Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology,…
March 2017
March 2017 Caltex has undergone considerable structural change in recent years, with the business shifting from being a capital-intensive refiner, toward a more capital-light operation, focused on fuel retail and marketing, together with a significant operation in fuel distribution. The fuel distribution network supplies a range of fuels (diesel, petrol and specialist products), servicing Caltex’s…
March 2017
March 2017 A rise in electricity prices has been the main driver of AGL's share price with the 'forward curve' for electricity prices rising 30% or more in recent months for most Australian states. This has been driven by expectations of a tight market for electricity as Hazelwood power station is closed. The sharp rise…
March 2017
The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index pushed higher in February, gaining 2.2%, with Consumer Staples and REITs the top performing sectors. At the end of February, Ralton's flagship Australian shares portfolio marginally underperformed the index. Our overweight position in Consumer Discretionary was a key contributor to investor returns, as was our underweight position in Materials. Aristocrat…
March 2017
March 2017 Share registry business, Computershare (ASX:CPU), continued its rally from the fourth quarter of last year into 2017, adding value to Ralton's Australian Shares portfolio. The key driver of the rise has been the steepening of yield curves globally since the election of Donald Trump caused investors to refocus on the outlook for inflation.…
February 2017
February 2017 Blood plasma producer, CSL (ASX:CSL), upgraded its profit forecasts in January and it is now targeting 18-20% profit growth in constant currency for FY17. CSL attributed the profit uplift to several factors, including market share gains for its core blood plasma products in the US, a factor which we principally attribute to CSL’s…
February 2017
February 2017 Energy company, Origin Energy (ASX:ORG), added value in January, with the stock up 73% from its level a year ago. We see several drivers for the recent outperformance: delivery of two LNG trains at the APLNG plant in Gladstone an overall simplification of the business with material cost savings from a reduction in…
February 2017
The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index recorded a modest fall in January, -0.77%. Materials and Healthcare were both up solidly, however Real Estate and Industrials were both down for the month. At the end of January, Ralton's flagship Australian shares portfolio marginally outperformed the Index. An overweight position in Energy was a key contributor, while an…