Donegal Investment Group (DCP:ID)

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activist investors, DCP, Donegal Creameries, Donegal Investment Group, Ian Ireland, Irish shares, Irish value investing, Monaghan Middlebrook Mushrooms, Ronnie Wilson, share repurchase, shareholder value

Time flies… I published my Donegal Creameries – Low Fat Diet write-up just over a year ago. Quite obviously, it’s been a successful call 🙂 :

In my original post, I referenced the closing DCP:ID share price (on Fri, May-3rd, 2013) of EUR 3.63. The following Tuesday (the Monday was May Day), the stock rallied 28%, before closing up 18.5% at EUR 4.30. [Another endorsement: My very first suggestion was a name change…which occurred just 2 months later!] A subsequent march higher, at periodic intervals, culminated in the stock doubling after 10 months (i.e. in Mar-2014). Since then, we’ve suffered a 17% retracement – so today’s EUR 6.00 share price seems like a bargain, eh?!

Donegal Creameries – Low Fat Diet

Tags

activist investors, An Grianan, Camposol Holding, catalyst, dairy, DCP, Donegal Creameries, Glanbia, Ian Ireland, Irish shares, Irish value investing, Monaghan Middlebrook Mushrooms, Produce Investments, Ronnie Wilson, seed potatoes

Last week, I published a surprisingly popular post:  I identified myself as an activist investor, rather than necessarily a value investor (or, heaven forbid, a growth investor!). I meant this in the broadest sense – an activist investor sees a v different company & valuation to the one which currently exists (in the minds of most investors). That obviously implies a corporate transformation – and catalysts are a great way to ensure it occurs. Hopefully, you’ve noticed this approach in a number of my previous investment write-ups, but I also promised a brand new example! So, without further ado, let me introduce:

Donegal Creameries plc (DCP:ID)

OK, let’s just dive right in – here’s a snapshot of their last 5 years:

Ugh, that’s enough to make any investor lactose intolerant..! Revenues have declined 38% over the last 5 years – not surprisingly, cumulative operating profit (OP) is a puny EUR 0.5 mio, while net income’s not much better at EUR 3.1 mio. In per share terms, it looks worse: Net asset value (NAV) declined 12% – even if we add-back dividends, shareholders only earned 1% for the entire period. At this point, we can safely assume the majority of investors (value, or growth) have already discarded Donegal, probably for years to come, as a potential investment…