Always excited to see what Einhorn is up to. Couple of new positions detailed as follows:
During the quarter we established a new position in BP plc (BP, Financial), one of the world's largest integrated energy companies, at an average price of $41.18 per share. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010 caused a significant decline in BP's share price. BP has reserved nearly $40 billion pre-tax to account for costs related to this accident and has thus far sold $22 billion of non-core assets (with a stated target of up to $30 billion in divestitures), leaving the balance sheet in excellent shape. Pro forma for these asset sales and after taking into account our estimate of BP's eventual oil spill related expenses, we expect BP will still be able to earn nearly $20 billion per year from continuing operations. At less than 7x pro forma earnings, we purchased BP at a 25% discount to its peers. The company is well positioned to reinstate a dividend in early 2011 and generate higherproduction growth with its high-grade asset base. BP shares ended the year at $44.17 per share.
We also established a new position in Sprint Nextel Corporation (S, Financial), a wireless communications provider, at an average price of $4.46 per share. Sprint's disastrous Nextel acquisition in 2005 put the company on a painful downward spiral. We think S is now showing the early signs of a promising turnaround. Dan Hesse joined S in 2005 and became CEO in 2007. He has focused on customer service and improving the handset lineup, which have both improved considerably. This has driven subscriber additions and reduced customer churn. We believe S has a significant margin expansion opportunity as it consolidates two networks. Lastly, we think S' uniquely large spectrum position through its direct holdings and via its interest in Clearwire is a valuable competitive advantage in an industry where spectrum is becoming a scarce resource. We value S at a discounted cash flow value of over $10 per share if management delivers on its targeted savings from network modernization. S shares ended the year at $4.23 per share.
Here is the full letter courtesy of Market Folly: http://freepdfhosting.com/ad43e73e35.pdf
During the quarter we established a new position in BP plc (BP, Financial), one of the world's largest integrated energy companies, at an average price of $41.18 per share. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010 caused a significant decline in BP's share price. BP has reserved nearly $40 billion pre-tax to account for costs related to this accident and has thus far sold $22 billion of non-core assets (with a stated target of up to $30 billion in divestitures), leaving the balance sheet in excellent shape. Pro forma for these asset sales and after taking into account our estimate of BP's eventual oil spill related expenses, we expect BP will still be able to earn nearly $20 billion per year from continuing operations. At less than 7x pro forma earnings, we purchased BP at a 25% discount to its peers. The company is well positioned to reinstate a dividend in early 2011 and generate higherproduction growth with its high-grade asset base. BP shares ended the year at $44.17 per share.
We also established a new position in Sprint Nextel Corporation (S, Financial), a wireless communications provider, at an average price of $4.46 per share. Sprint's disastrous Nextel acquisition in 2005 put the company on a painful downward spiral. We think S is now showing the early signs of a promising turnaround. Dan Hesse joined S in 2005 and became CEO in 2007. He has focused on customer service and improving the handset lineup, which have both improved considerably. This has driven subscriber additions and reduced customer churn. We believe S has a significant margin expansion opportunity as it consolidates two networks. Lastly, we think S' uniquely large spectrum position through its direct holdings and via its interest in Clearwire is a valuable competitive advantage in an industry where spectrum is becoming a scarce resource. We value S at a discounted cash flow value of over $10 per share if management delivers on its targeted savings from network modernization. S shares ended the year at $4.23 per share.
Here is the full letter courtesy of Market Folly: http://freepdfhosting.com/ad43e73e35.pdf
