Zip Co: AGM and capital raising
About the author:
- Author name:
- By Richard Coles
- Job title:
- Senior Analyst
- Date posted:
- 03 December 2019, 12:38 PM
- Sectors Covered:
- Insurance, Diversified Financials
- Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) has announced a A$60m capital raising in conjunction with its AGM.
- Z1P continues to make good progress on its growth agenda with AGM
commentary pointing to full launches for both Zip Biz and the UK business in
3Q20.
- While we are supportive of Z1P’s growth plans, the current capital raising does
add to significant dilution throughout CY19 which needs to be justified by
execution.
- We make small changes to our absolute FY20/FY21 NPAT forecasts (-A$1-2m, off
a low base), with EPS dilution from the capital raising -3% pa. Our Z1P price target
falls (Morgans can login to view detailed reports and price targets here).
- We are fans of the Z1P story, but with the stock having re-rated strongly this year
(>250%), we feel its current valuation is fair pending evidence of traction in its
offshore growth strategy. We maintain our Hold recommendation.
What happened
Z1P has announced a A$60m capital raising in conjunction with its AGM.
The raising
involved a A$50m non-underwritten placement to institutional investors and a A$10m
SPP.
Money will be used to fund growth (global expansion, new product verticals),
increase investment in products and technology and to strengthen Z1P’s balance sheet.
As part of the AGM, FY20 financial targets were largely reaffirmed, e.g. 2.5m customers
and A$2.2bn in annualised transaction volume by June 2020.
Good progress on ZipBiz and Partpay
Positively, ZIP appears to be progressing its growth agenda quickly. Indeed, AGM
commentary noted ZipBiz is moving towards full rollout by 3Q20, with Z1P’s UK launch on
track for the same time frame.
Additionally, the rebranding of Partpay to Z1P in NZ is now
complete.
The other AGM commentary to catch our attention was the disclosure of
customer cohort benefits being driven by Z1P’s Native App.
Management highlighted
Native App users transact 3.4x more on average than non-app users, and have a much
lower arrears rate (0.73% vs 1.03% for non-app users).
Significant capital issued in 2019
While acknowledging Z1P has a significant growth agenda, it is worth remembering there
is a large dilution impact inherit in funding it.
On Morgans Estimates, this calendar year Z1P has
issued 93 million shares/warrants, almost one-third of its December 2018 diluted share
count (302 million) to support a range of growth activities including the Partpay acquisition
and the Amazon Australia strategic agreement.
While we believe Z1P’s performance
warrants such accelerated investment, it does need to be justified by further solid
execution.
Changes to forecasts and investment view
We make small changes to our absolute FY20/FY21 NPAT forecasts (-A$1-2m, off a low
base), with EPS dilution from the capital raising -3% p.a.
As a result, our Z1P price target falls (Morgans can login to view detailed reports and price targets here).
We are fans of the Z1P story, but with the stock having re-rated strongly this year
(>250%), we feel its current valuation is fair pending evidence of traction in its offshore
growth strategy.
We maintain our Hold recommendation.
More information
Morgans clients can login to view our detailed report and share price target for Zip Co (Z1P). Alternatively, please contact your Morgans adviser or nearest Morgans office for access.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this report is provided to you by Morgans Financial Limited as general advice only, and is made without consideration of an individual's relevant personal circumstances. Morgans Financial Limited ABN 49 010 669 726, its related bodies corporate, directors and officers, employees, authorised representatives and agents (“Morgans”) do not accept any liability for any loss or damage arising from or in connection with any action taken or not taken on the basis of information contained in this report, or for any errors or omissions contained within. It is recommended that any persons who wish to act upon this report consult with their Morgans investment adviser before doing so.