Airlie portfolio manager Ray David believes jobs listing platform Seek is primed for a rebound, despite a 58 per cent share price drop over the past year. This steep decline, the worst among its ASX 200 sector peers, stems from a weaker job market outlook and AI disruption fears. Seek, founded in 1997, is a leading online employment marketplace, connecting job seekers with employers globally. It provides a platform for job advertisements and talent acquisition services.
Seek’s challenges intensified with Australia’s rate-rise cycle, leading to a 14.2 per cent share price drop last month after weaker job volume forecasts. However, softer inflation data has recently tempered expectations for aggressive Reserve Bank of Australia rate hikes. David highlighted Seek’s current price-to-earnings multiple of just 12, stating, “The stock has never been as cheap.” He cited Seek’s strong franchise and recently completed multi-year tech re-platforming.
Airlie’s other top pick is SGH, an industrial conglomerate controlled by the Stokes family. SGH is an industrial conglomerate with operations across heavy construction equipment, media, and energy sectors. Its businesses are often seen as indicators of broader economic health. SGH’s share price has fallen nearly 25 per cent amid a gloomy economic picture, with its major businesses bellwethers due to exposure to home building, construction, and mining.
Despite these headwinds, David believes SGH will benefit long-term from BHP’s anticipated copper exploration boom. BHP plans to allocate over half of its $US11 billion annual capital expenditure to copper projects. He highlighted SGH’s WesTrac business, holding the master franchise for Caterpillar equipment, expecting increased demand for machinery and parts as BHP’s capital expenditure grows.
