Charlie Munger.
Nati Harnik is an AP Images photographer.
The Daily Journal made a $106 million gain on its investments for the year to September 30, even though its bet on the Chinese company fell in value.
Munger is best known for being Warren Buffet's business partner and vice-chairman of the company. He's been the Daily Journal's chairman since 1977 and manages the newspaper publisher and software supplier's investment portfolio.
The billionaire investor's bets paid off in the 12 months to September 30, according to the Daily Journal's annual report. The publisher's portfolio has a cost base of $103 million and has a value of $348 million. The total gains were lifted by 77%.
The stock prices of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and US Bancorp all went up at the end of September. He has made only one addition to the highly concentrated portfolio since at least 2013, which was splurging $40 million on American Depositary Shares (ADS) of Alibaba in early 2021.
He doubled down in the third quarter, plowing another $25 million into the Chinese e-commerce group. The value of Munger's enlarged stake in the Chinese company has been slashed by more than half because of the stock's decline.
The Daily Journal cut its number of positions from nine to seven last quarter. One of the company's biggest holdings is the stock of a foreign manufacturer, and it's one of the bets that it holds a stake in.
The publisher's revenues fell 1% to $49 million in the year to September 30, as higher advertising sales were offset by lower circulation revenues, consulting fees, and licensing and maintenance fees. The company reported an operating profit of $2.2 million, compared to an operating loss of 1.3 million in the year to September 2020.
Business Insider has an original article.
