28 February 2023
Commentaire de gestion Amplegest PME - FC - February 2023
Amplegest PME significantly underperformed its benchmark index in February (-1.43% vs +2.56%). Before discussing the month's publications, it should be noted that the market is largely devoting the largest stocks in the index and is massively neglecting the next largest stocks. This trend has been in place since the beginning of the year and was reinforced in February. The top 20 stocks in the index rose by an average of +4% in February, while the following stocks fell by -2%. The differential since the beginning of the year is even more striking (+13% vs. +3%). Beyond our universe, we can also see that large caps are clearly outperforming small caps, so we can conclude that the market is generally turning to the most liquid stocks, which are also benefiting from a technical rebound (redemption of short positions, very little movement in long-only stocks). After 5 years of continuous outflows, small stocks are clearly lacking in flow and we do not see any trend inflection as long as the macroeconomic environment remains so anxiety-provoking. On the negative side, BILENDI reported organic growth of +6% instead of the expected +9% for fiscal year 2022. It should be remembered that the company made a significant acquisition this year (RESPONDI, equivalent to 30% of its turnover) and that in a context where all cost centers have increased, clients have tended to reduce their marketing expenses in order to protect their margins (especially at the end of the year). XILAM's share price suffered from a reduced growth outlook for 2023 due to an order cancellation. LECTRA also reported slightly lower-than-expected Q4 figures, but announced targets for 2025 are significantly higher. On the other hand, VOYAGEURS DU MONDE gave very good indications for 2022. The year 2023 also looks good with travel budgets that should not suffer from inflation. Among non-PEA-SME stocks, we note the good publication of SOPRA (1.7% of assets) as well as WORLDLINE (1.3%) but without any stock market reaction for the latter. The fund also benefited from a takeover bid for LISI, but we are underweight compared to the index (1.1% vs. 2.1%).