Groupe Bruxelle Lambert (GBLBF, Financial) is a Belgian holding company that trades at a 25% discount to NAV. The holdings are a diverse group of European blue chips, many of which are household names in the U.S. The stock is a buy.
The stock trades for 85.73 euros ($98.30), there are 161.36 million shares, and the market cap is 13.94 billion euros. The dividend is 2.93 euros, and the dividend yield is 3.39%. The company states that the current net asset value is 115.3 euros per share. As you can see, the stock trades at a discount to NAV of 25%. This NAV calculation is as of July 14. Pretty fresh.
The holdings of Groupe Bruxelle Lambert include: 53.6% of Imerys (XPAR:NK, Financial), 9.4% of Lafarge/Holcim (HCMLF, Financial), 7.5% of adidas (ADS, Financial), 16.2% of SGS (XSWX:SGSN), 7.5% of Pernod Ricard (PDRDY, Financial), 17% of Umicore (UMICY, Financial) and 0.7% of French oil giant Total (TOT, Financial). I especially like Lafarge for cement and Pernod Ricard for liquor. Cement has a minimonopoly as it's too expensive to haul long distances. Of course, liquor is profitable, and Pernod is the second-largest spirits company in the world.
Groupe Bruxelle Lambert's "Incubator" division has investment in Burberry (BURBY, Financial), Parques Reunidos (XMCE:PQR) and Ontex (XBRU:ONTEX). You know Burberry, Parques Reunidos is a theme park, and Ontex specializes in hygene products. There is also a private equity division named Sienna Capital.
The shareholding structure is a little complicated. Groupe Bruxelle Lambert is 50% owned by Swiss holding company Pargessa. Pargessa in turn is held by a Belgian holding company named Freres and Power Corp. of Canada. These are all interesting companies to follow and have done well over the years.
Unlike Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B), Groupe Bruxelle Lambert occasionally sells off holdings. Last year, the company decreased holdings in Total. Can't blame management – oil is not the great investment it once was.
The euro has done well recently against the dollar. Earlier this year, $1.05 bought one euro; now it is $1.14. That bodes well for holders of the ADR.
The European markets have done well this year. The Vanguard European Stock Index is up 16.84%. As you might expect, popular blue chips make up the portfolio.
Back in 2015, the stock traded at a 16% discount to NAV. The stock is a buy. If you are interested in Europe long term, this is an interesting way to invest. Short term, sell when the discount to NAV closes.
Disclosure: We own shares.
