The company trades for $96 million, but has no debt and cash and marketable securities of $64 million. The company has been consistently profitable over the last several quarters, and it finished 2009 with operating income of $12 million, which results in a return on equity of 15%!So how does the company manage to turn in such stellar results while most companies out there are struggling to cut costs to avoid large blots of red ink? The company saw large increases in public notice placements, due to the large number of foreclosures in California and Arizona. Public notice advertising for foreclosures is mandated by law, and so this company is likely to continue to benefit from the foreclosures that are continuing to occur in this tough labour market.Worried about how the company is investing its large stable of marketable securities? How about its corporate governance structure, or how it allocates its retained earnings? We've recently seen a few companies that are not so shareholder friendly, could this be another one of them? Value investors and fans of corporate governance will be pleased to know that the company's chairman is none other than Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's right-hand man at Berkshire Hathaway.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Bad Times are Good Times for Some
Daily Journal Corp. (DJCO) is an interesting business:
