Our opinion on the current state of ARA

Astoria (ARA) is an investment company which was formed to give investors exposure to an international selection of equities in developed economies. The share trades well below its NAV and has only recently begun trading after being suspended from September 2020 to April 2021. The company benefited from the sale of "non-lethal self-defence" products during the period as a result of the civil unrest. The company owns one third of Outdoor Investment Holdings, a 35,7% stake in Trans Hex and has sold its stake in CNA. On 19th April 2021, the company announced that following the distribution of 51,15m shares, trading in the company's shares had resumed. In its results for the six months to 30th June 2023 the company reported a headline loss of 18,32c per share compared with a loss of 11,72c in the previous period. The net asset value (NAV) was 1408,49c per share. In a report on the 9 months to 30th September 2023 the company reported an NAV of 1407.67c per share and a headline loss of 7,3c. Volume traded on the share is a potential problem with only R52 000 worth of shares per day on average and many days without any trades. Aside from that, the share is under a cautionary and looks like good value.