Viscofan due diligence
Hatchworks conducted due diligence on Viscofan, one of the global leaders in the meat-casing industry. It produces four key artificial casing technologies; namely collagen, cellulose, fibrous and plastic. By manufacturing all four, this gives Viscofan a competitive edge relative to its peers.
Viscofan hold a 50% market share, globally. Sales of their meat-casing products account for 94.7% of their operations, with the remaining 5.3% coming from generating electricity.
Viscofan, headquartered in Cáseda, Spain, was founded in 1975 and is listed on the ‘’Madrid Stock Exchange’’ under the symbol ‘’VIS’’.
Financials — Viscofan
(Source: Marketscreener.com, investing.com)
Viscofan’s market cap is €2.6B and stock price is around €58.
With a predicted net-income growth of 6.3% for 2021E and 2022E, and a net income estimate for 2022E of in excess of €134M, this points to a P/E ratio of 19.40x.
The revenue/sales forecast is €956M for 2022E, indicating an EV/Sales ratio of 2.71x.
In terms of profitability, an operating margin of 18.2% is predicted for 2022E. This is higher than some of Viscofan’s (VIS) competitors; for example, Vetropack Holding AG (VET) has an operating margin of 12.10% for 2022E.
Viscofan (VIS) is a yielding equity with a yield of 3.21% for 2022E.
A large proportion of its products are exported to international markets and are currently used in over 100 different countries.
Their latest financial results (January-December 2020) has shown solid growth. Viscofan (VIS) reached €912.2M in turnover, up 7.4% on the previous year driven by the growth in volumes in all areas.
They had a €122.5M in net-income, 16.0% higher than the previous year. Because of their strong operational results, Viscofan (VIS) was able to reduce their net-debt by 10.2% in 2020.
If we take a look at the overall performance of Viscofan (VIS) from a technical standpoint, it’s clear that, even during high volatilities in the market, Viscofan has remained pretty stable and recovered relatively well. It’s up now around 34.7% from its March, 2020 low (when the pandemic hit) and 13.4% away from all-time-high.
Viscofan started its ‘’More to be’’ strategy in the casing industry in order to create shareholder value, but in a sustainable way. One of Viscofan’s key drivers is the artificial casings technology. Artificial casing, particularly collagen-based and cellulose-based, is widely used across food industries throughout the world. Factors such as increasing meat consumption, growing world population and rising demand for processed meat would drive the growth of the market.
Such types of artificial casing provide a number of advantages over the natural casing, including lower production costs and consistent size control. With the various technological advancements and improved manufacturing systems, the casings are witnessing a significant demand in the European market. The global artificial casings market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2019 to reach $4.8 billion by 2025.
According to our analysis, Viscofan (VIS) is showing steady earnings and revenue growth, plus has a decent yield and net-cash position. Combine that with the fact, as already mentioned, that Viscofan (VIS) is the only company producing the four main technologies which gives them a competitive edge, Hatchworks will maintain its position.
The Hatchscore is 6.9 out of 10. Full details can be found on Hatchnet: www.hatch-net.com/companies
What is Viscofan?
Hatchworks conducted due diligence on Viscofan, one of the global leaders in the meat-casing industry. It produces 4 key artificial casing technologies, namely collagen, cellulose, fibrous and plastic. Viscofan currently commands c. 50% global market share.
Big Investors:
- Corporacion Financiera Alba, S.A.
- Wellington Management International Ltd.
- The Vanguard Group, Inc.
- APG Asset Management NV.
What are the risks?
- Increase in raw-materials and energy prices could affect Viscofan’s profitability.
- The global economic situation and monetary policies implemented by the competent authorities in different countries could led to ex-change rate fluctuations/risks in several currencies used by Viscofan. As a result, this may hurt their operational business.
- Any regulatory changes in certain countries where Viscofan operates, could have a negative impact on their operational business.
- If certain countries introduce a meat tax, this could have a negative affect on growth in the artificial casings market and is likely to therefore hurt Viscofan’s operational business.
Competitors:
- Devro Plc. (DVO)
- Vetropack Holding AG. (VET)
- Vidrala, S.A. (VID)
Management team:
- José Domingo de Ampuero y Osma: Chairman.
- Ignacio Marco-Gardoqui Ibáñez: Vice Chairman.
- Jose Antonio Canales García: CEO.
The Hatchworks Team
The forecast figures are based on the data of Marketscreener.com, and not from Hatchworks: https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/VISCOFAN-S-A-75245/financials/
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