#2 scares me a bit because it seems like what ADES did, however PFSW already distributed most of their money to shareholders in a particular dividend final yr, they do not have an enormous money stability burning a gap of their pocket.
Offering 3PL providers to the retail trade, you’d count on PFSW to be within the midst of a covid hangover much like UPS/FDX or Amazon, however the firm has continued to develop on prime of their covid positive factors and are equally guiding to 5-10% income development and 6-8% standalone EBITDA margin in 2023 (on their current convention name, 2023 is off to an “very robust begin” and later a “phenomenal begin”). In addition they present their estimate of public firm prices of two% of income that may very well be eradicated by both a strategic acquirer or if the corporate was taken personal. Following the 2021 asset sale and particular dividend, PFSW has a clear stability sheet with $30MM in web money.
The above is utilizing the standalone EBITDA steering (full company overhead), if we use the ex-public firm price steering it naturally seems even cheaper.
A well-liked 3PL is GXO, a current spin of XPO Logistics, GXO is a a lot bigger, extra scaled and diversified enterprise, but it surely trades at 13x 2023 EBITDA steering ranges, nicely above PFSW that’s beneath 4x EBITDA.
PFSW reported earnings on the 14th, its down about 30% since then regardless of no unfavorable information popping out of the earnings report or the convention name. My guess is both somebody is getting liquidated, it is a comparatively illiquid inventory, or the income steering is getting picked up by information aggregators as a major lower. PFSW had a unusual contract the place their GAAP income was distorted increased, however that ran off final yr, their GAAP income will now match their beforehand reported “service payment income”.
The sale course of has dragged on longer than anticipated, they wished to decorate up the corporate on the market and by the point the makeover was executed, the markets have modified only a bit. There ought to patrons for this enterprise, dozens of personal 3PL suppliers would make strategic sense and loads of center market PE retailers that is also .
Disclosure: I personal shares of PFSW and calls