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Juan I HERNÁNDEZ's avatar

Thnks. Great work.

Besides Forvia´s restructuring, the thesis is a demand narrative for the period 2024/29. Adding volumes to a stable fixed cost structure that will leverage operating margins.

Just I do not see this sales growth happening. And operating leverage is a double edge sword.

Do you see further sector consolidation among Tier1s ?

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DuckPond Value Research's avatar

Thanks for your comment!

You are right. Dependance on the demand is key here.

Attempting to simplify the question that will determine the thesis's topline is: Will more cars be sold annually from now until 2029? I believe the answer is yes. And Forvia will capture a portion of that. The topline of the thesis is very moderate. Then there's leverage with restructuring, being more penalized by debt + the capital cycle where there has been a lot of concentration.

Regarding further M&A, besides Dowlais + AXL, I don't see it, at least concerning large mergers, but who knows... For now, what's on the table is a spinoff of Continental AG's electronics division.

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Roman's avatar

Forvia is a highly interesting stock, currently deeply in the penalty box. If the auto market recovers, it is totally possible for Forvia to print an EPS of ~5€. At a 7x EPS multiple, the upside is dramatic, while at the same time the downside seems to be limited...

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DuckPond Value Research's avatar

Too limited IMO. Totally agree. Thanks for the comment!

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Juan I HERNÁNDEZ's avatar

See the whole Auto more as a value trap though. Cheap.. but what for?.

Despite of potential interest reduction, in my view the Demand narratives won't play in the next 2 or 3-yrs.

Interesting how has Conti been developing (from a HoldCo to divesting pure players). Do you have any opinion / something to read on them?

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DuckPond Value Research's avatar

I don't see Western OEMs yet. I share your narrative there. But it's different with auto parts, IMO. Even if expectations aren't met, there's a margin of safety with Forvia.

Didn't have time yet, but i want to study the spinoff. The spinned division is struggling hard with margins: Op. Margin 2% 2024 vs 5.5% from Electronics Forvia. A priori, it seems the value lies more in expulse dead weight from Continental's core business than in the spinoff. But, as I say, that's very much a priori.

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Juan I HERNÁNDEZ's avatar

German hardware engineering is great, but software eng is not that much promising. And for a culture of financial control, they simply built a fixed cost-empire with lot of candies in between. So much dead weight all over Conti. But for a culture of entrepreneurship and accountability, they are very wrong.

Pd. tier1s used to have upper hand with customers. But I dunno if this is broken.

Gestamp EV/EBIT 5x

- max REV & Earnings (EBIT €650m)

- min SH-p

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