Charles de Vaulx (Trades, Portfolio) joined International Value Advisers in 2008 and serves as chief investment officer and portfolio manager. Prior to IVA, he was the portfolio manager of the First Eagle Global, Overseas, U.S. Value, Gold, and Variable Funds.
In 2001, de Vaulx and his co-manager were named Morningstar’s International Stock Manager of the Year.
The firm is absolute return oriented and employs a bottom-up approach to picking stocks. Its approach is also flexible in that it may include securities across all asset classes, including gold, cash, and fixed income.
During the fourth quarter, the IVA Worldwide Fund purchased four new holdings, with a quarter-over-quarter turnover of 10%. The following are the new holdings in order of portfolio impact.
Antofagasta (LSE:ANTO, Financial)
De Vaulx’s largest purchase during the quarter was 3,655,194 shares of Antofagasta, which traded for an average price of $7.12 during the quarter. The company has a 0.81% portfolio weighting.
Antofagasta is a Chile-based company listed on the London Stock Exchange engaged in copper mining, including exploration and development.
EBIT per share in FY 2013 was £1.34, a figure that had been in decline since 2011. Over the past five years, however, EBIT per share growth has been 10.4%.
The current dividend yield is 7.58%, which is close to the 10-year high. The payout ratio is 157%.
The stock has been down 13% over the past year and currently trades at £7.67, with a P/E ratio of 18.8 and P/S ratio of 2.07.
Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels (HKSE:00045, Financial)
De Vaulx also bought 14,116,000 shares of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels for an average price of HK$11.87 per share. The new holding now accounts for 0.4% of the portfolio.
The holding company develops, owns, and manages prestigious hotel, commercial and residential properties in key destinations in Asia, Europe and the U.S.
EBIT per share for the trailing 12 months is HK$0.67. The following graph shows the trend of EBIT per share over time.
The stock has been up 6% over the past year and currently trades at HK$11.24, with a P/E ratio of 9.9 and P/S ratio of 3.06.
The current dividend yield is 1.5%, which is close to the 10-year high. The payout ratio is also a low 18%, indicating the dividend has room for growth.
Bureau Veritas (XPAR:BVI, Financial)
The fund also picked up 607,908 shares of Bureau Veritas, which traded for an average price of €18.49 during the quarter.
The Paris-based company provides testing, inspection, and certification services to different industries.
The company’s EBIT per share has steadily increased each year, recording at €1.32 in FY 2013.
The stock has been up 7% over the past year and currently trades at €21.06 with a P/E ratio of 27.4 and P/ S ratio of 2.39.
The operating margin in 2013 was 15%, a figure that has declined about 2% over the past five years.
Bollore (XPAR:BOLNV, Financial)
De Vaulx purchased 55,400 shares of Bollore for an average price of €3.77 per share.
Bollore is a French investment and industrial holding group controlled by the Bollore family. It holds strong positions in three business lines: transportation and logistics, communication and media, and electricity storage and solutions.
In FY 2013, EBIT per share was €0.25. The following graph shows the trend of the earnings over time.
The stock has been up 15% over the past year and currently trades at €4.78 with a P/E ratio of 44.5 and P/S ratio of 1.11.
Looking at the balance sheet, the current ratio is exactly 1, meaning the company can cover its short-term obligations.
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