WTC share price in focus
Founded in 1994 by Richard White and Maree Isaacs, Wisetech Global is a developer of cloud-based software used for international and domestic logistics industries.
Wisetech has a suite of software products used across various logistics functions including fowarding & customs, landside transport, rates & contracts, warehousing, and transport management systems.
Their cornerstone software, Cargowise, is an industry-leading solution now used by all 25 of the largest global freight forwarders and 46 of the top 50 third-party logistics providers.
COL shares
Coles is an Australian retailer providing customers with everyday products including fresh food, groceries, general merchandise, liquor, fuel and financial services. It was founded in 1914 in Victoria which it still calls its home base.
Coles was formerly owned by conglomerate Wesfarmers from 2007 until 2018, when it was spun-off and listed as a separate entity on the ASX under the ticker symbol ‘COL’. Coles’ earnings are dominated by the supermarkets side of the business, however, it partly or fully owns or operates adjacent businesses like flybuys, Liquorland, First Choice, Vintage Cellars, Coles Express and more.
While Coles is in a way the ‘little brother’ to Woolworths, it still controls a significant share of the Australian grocery market (about 28%). In its short time as its own listed entity, Coles has established itself as a handy and reliable dividend payer.
WTC share price valuation
As a growth company, some of the trends we would be looking for from WTC include revenue growth, profit growth, and return on equity (ROE). Since 2021, WTC has grown revenue at a rate of 27.1% per year to reach $1,042m in FY24. Over the same time period, net profit has increased from $108m to $263m. WTC last reported a ROE of 12.8%.
Since COL is more of a ‘mature’ or ‘blue-chip’ business, some of the metrics that might be important to us include the debt/equity ratio, average yield, and return on equity, or ROE. In FY24, Coles Group Ltd reported a debt/equity ratio of 278.4%, meaning the company is leveraged (it has more debt than equity). This can increase risk so it’s important that a leveraged company has stable returns and the capacity to pay interest on its debts.
As for dividends, since 2019 COL has achieved an average dividend yield of 3.8% per year.
Finally, in FY24, COL reported an ROE of 32.4%. For a mature business you generally want to see an ROE of more than 10%, so COL clears this hurdle.
It’s important to keep in mind that these are only a selection of metrics and don’t give us enough information to value the business or make an investment decision. To learn more about valuation, I’d recommend checking out one of our free online investing courses.
