The Queensland state government’s announcement of the potential nationalisation of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VAH) is undoubtedly a value-destroying move, in my view. Airlines are capital-intensive companies. They have good margins, but not great. Attaching a company like that to the state finances appears, prima facie, as a recipe for disaster.

At time of writing, Virgin owes $2.28 billion to secured lenders and secured leaseholders, $1.98 billion to unsecured bondholders, $1.88 billion to aircraft lessors and $451 million in entitlements to around 9,000 workers. In total, almost $7 billion to over 12,000 parties. 

In any debt restructuring and bailout, creditors can exert some influence. However, all bidders will be looking to reduce payments to debt holders – a situation the state government would find difficult. 

This is particularly as Queensland would be doing so for its own state interest. While this is fair enough, I believe it adds little value to the remainder of the airline’s national customers, aside from placing their interests always second. The irreplaceable value of Virgin to the Queensland economy has been overblown. As has the need for government intervention.

Alternatives to nationalisation

Outside of nationalisation, a range of potential bidders has come to light. Among them is Andrew Forrest, a man whose determination has already launched 2 multi-billion dollar enterprises in Western Australia. 

Deloitte, Virgin’s lead administrator, previously stated that 8 bidders were already confirmed, with negotiations continuing with a further 12 potential bidders. Some of these allegedly include Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), American airline investor Indigo Partners, Richard Branson and private equity firm BGH Capital.

Indicative bids for the airline are due by tomorrow, 15 May. Final bids are expected in June with Deloitte confident of completing the sales process by the end of June.

Capitalism works

Within Queensland, there are regional airlines like Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ) or even Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX). These airlines already carry a lot of the load of intra-state and regional air traffic. Not only in Queensland but also in my own state of Western Australia. The vacancy remains at the interstate level. 

Of these 2 airlines, I am particularly fond of Alliance. This company is the nation’s unheralded workhorse, ferrying many workers to and from resource projects. It has recently won a contract extension with South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) and has continued operations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. All of its aircraft belong to the company, which prides itself in operating to world-class standards. 

Foolish takeaway

In my opinion, any attempt at nationalisation by the Queensland government into the Virgin Australia bidding process is likely to produce a large number of losers. These include the taxpayers of Queensland, customers of Virgin across the nation, small but robust airlines like Alliance, as well as those who are dedicating time and capital to winning the bidding process.

Many airlines across the world have government support. However, in Australia, I believe this is not necessary. Virgin Blue demonstrated that.

More reading

• Why Beach, CBA, Qantas, & Xero shares are dropping lower
• The Queensland government is aiming to buy a stake in Virgin Australia
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ABS reveals overseas travel arrivals plummeted a massive 99% in April
• ASX stock of the day: This ASX airline share jumped 45% today on expansion speculation

The post Losers of Virgin Australia’s potential nationalisation appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3cwfuWG

I think having a little exposure to the small cap side of the market would be a very good thing for a portfolio.

You only need to look at how successful investing in the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) IPO in 2016 would have been to see why.

And while very few small cap shares will be as successful as Afterpay, there are a number on the market that have the potential to follow in its footsteps.

Three small cap shares I think have enormous potential are listed below:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

Bigtincan is a fast-growing provider of enterprise mobility software. The company’s software allows sales and service organisations to increase their sales win rates, reduce expenditures, and improve customer satisfaction. This is achieved through improved mobile worker productivity. It counts a wide range of blue chips as customers and continues to grow during the pandemic. Bigtincan recently reaffirmed that it is on course to achieve organic revenue growth in the range of 30% to 40% in FY 2020.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Serko is a technology company focused on innovative solutions that address the challenges of corporate travel and expense management. It was growing at a very strong rate over the last fews years thanks to the increasing popularity of its Zeno product. And while its performance looks likely to be negatively impacted by the coronavirus, I expect it to bounce back strongly once conditions ease.

Whispir (ASX: WSP)

Whispir is a software-as-a-service communications workflow platform provider. Its industry-leading software platform allows companies to deliver actionable two-way interactions at scale using automated multi-channel communication workflows. This helps make operations more efficient and can cut down the number of service desk support calls. It counts a number of big names as customers such as Disney and Foxtel.

More reading

• 3 top ASX shares to buy now and hold for 10 years
• If you invested $10,000 in the Afterpay IPO, this is how much you’d have now
• Is the Zip share price in the buy zone?
• Why Afterpay, Flight Centre, Mesoblast, & Sezzle shares are dropping lower
• Safe dividend stocks to buy today for the COVID-19 world

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Serko Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Serko Ltd and Whispir Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Could these small cap ASX shares be the next Afterpay? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2WXPnkG

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having an off day and is trading notably lower in late morning trade. At the time of writing the benchmark index is down 0.8% to 5,380.4 points.

Four shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

The Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) share price has jumped 10% to $20.52. This morning Breville completed the institutional component of its equity raising. The appliance maker raised $94 million at $17.00 per new share. This represents a discount of 9.1% to its last close price. The company also released a positive trading update which revealed strong sales growth in the second half. Between January 1 and April 30, Breville’s revenue was up 32% on the prior corresponding period. Sales grew 25% in March and 21% in April.

The Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) share price is up 6% to $3.49 following the release of its half year results. For the six months ended March 31, the grain exporter delivered an underlying net profit after tax of $55 million. This was an increase from a $48 million net loss after tax in the prior corresponding period.

The Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) share price has jumped 10% to $3.73. Investors have been buying the regenerative medicine company’s shares in recent weeks due to promising trials of its allogeneic cell therapy, remestemcel-L. The company is testing its efficacy in treating acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), the most devastating symptom of COVID-19. Phase 2/3 trials are ongoing, with the dosing of some patients commencing last week.

The Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) share price is up 4.5% to $29.30. A number of gold miners are pushing higher on Thursday after a solid rise in the gold price overnight. The precious metal rose amid speculation that the Federal Reserve will soon embark on further stimulus. In late morning trade the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is up by almost 3%.

More reading

• This ASX 200 share is rocketing higher after delivering more strong sales growth
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• This ASX 200 gold share is making the most of the gold rush
• ASX gold shares steady: Can gold provide your portfolio with defensive and safe returns?
• ASX 200 down 0.9%: CBA reveals $1.5bn COVID19 provision & gold miners charge higher

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why Breville, Graincorp, Mesoblast, & Newcrest shares are charging higher appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2WXo8ad