Forum Topics WTC WTC Governance

Pinned straw:

Straw deleted
Solvetheriddle
Added 9 months ago

I sat through the 6-hour WTC investor day a while back, and as i believe as i said then, the least impressive guy was the chairman.

my view, from many founder operators i have met over the years, is that they are not beyond playing hard and jobbing you when the ref isn't looking. as we have found out many times, when the skirt is lifted on their operations, which is rarely, we are surprised at what we find. i cut these guys a large degree of slack, they are by nature risk takers and run their own race, that is what has made them successful, as long as they are not pilfering the company or engaging in illegal activities etc, everyone can, of course, make their moral assessments.


held- bought into this dip, if WTC was a better price id buy a lot more.--- thats my view

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karlrockdrain
Added 9 months ago

This presents an interesting ethical dilemma for investors. Corporate governance should be highly regarded and 4 independent directors walking out the door is to put it mildly- very concerning. They have clearly had enough and will not be part of the circus anymore that is RW and Wisetech. I actually applaud them for sticking to their morals and their director duties and resigning. By rights, should be staying well clear of a Top 20 ASX company with this sort of outcome and they will struggle to attract top tier independent directors because of the governance issues.


My investing brain tells me a different story though. He is the biggest shareholder and Founder and does know his company backwards and wholeheartedly believes in the company and also his own proven entrepreneurial style. The market has overreacted to the SP and if i had spare coin in my Super of in my own name, i would be loading up on more WTC at the moment. They will report so so numbers tomorrow and the market will probably sell off more, but the undeniable fact is that Cargowise is a world leading solution and will only continue to be adopted by more and more logistics companies as time goes on and at very good margins. They care only that WTC provide a better faster cheaper mousetrap and not that RW likes the ladies....


Held in RL

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Chagsy
Added 9 months ago

Yeah that’s kinda where I am too @karlrockdrain

its a small holding for me 1%. Bought at $110

lots of noise but as @mikebrisy has previously mentioned it’s a big beast now, probably not dependant on individuals anymore.

im thinking hard about committing a larger chunk (5%) as it looks like a wide moat long term compounding machine. The question I ask myself is will it be >5x larger in 10 years? The answer is: probably, yes

it’s one of those rare ASX companies that has a technological advantage moat AND a network effect moat but also has a re-investment philosophy. By which I mean it’s ROE and ROIC are higher than its WACC, PLUS it has a long runway for growth AND it is not tempted to pay out cash, but prefers to put it back into the business. There are a number of ASX companies that have legacy moats but can’t keep increasing revenue and profit by re-investing earnings because they are in mature industries/markets. Hardly any ASX compounding machines are large caps - as far as I can see, anyway ! So, WTC is exactly what I am after as a 50 something year old bloke that wants a lower risk portfolio

The entry price is currently reasonable value if we assume it continues its previous/current trajectory. However the last revision downwards on guidance gives me pause for thought. If not for that I would be filling my boots

vacillating.

probably will go large, but would love a better entry point. An exit from a listed company into a private equity vehicle is also a concern. I have little idea how this would work and what impact this might have to the SP. @Solvetheriddle ? Any comments? Appreciate your insight.

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Solvetheriddle
Added 9 months ago

@Chagsy , privatisation is pure speculation on my part. It is based on RW getting fed up with the attention on his private life and wanting out of having a publicly listed company. On the call today, I was interested in how engaged RW was with the analyst community for any sign of this. RW appeared very engaged, so I think the chances of privatisation are below 10%.

if it were to occur there is the nice route and the not-nice route for minorities. the nice route is RW partners (financial not otherwise) launch a t/o at a good price and WTC disappears. i suspect there are many insto's shareholders that want s/w exposure that is very light on in OZ. so there would have to be negotiation.

the not-nice path, as we see from time to time, is minorities get mistreated with the aim of getting the shares cheaply for the characters who want to take over the business. i see no sign of this for WTC.

the base case here is the board changes and the SP gets driven by the success of the biz from now on.

held and i am a buyer of the dip

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lankypom
Added 9 months ago

This is the nicely balanced view from the AFR:

"Through his own actions, Richard White has thrown the tech giant into crisis twice in six months. How can any serious investor trust him again?"

I'm beginning to wonder how any serious investor can trust the AFR to report dispassionately on financial topics rather than pander to populism.

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elpaso96
Added 9 months ago

Hope I can buy this at the market close in strawman.

Sound business with an over exaggerated market reaction in my opinion

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edgescape
Added 9 months ago

This is becoming similar to Compumedics who have only one independent director

Only difference is Wisetech is a higher quality business overall

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