These eight Belgian companies beat Warren Buffett

Eight Belgian companies on the stock market delivered more value creation over the past decade than Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company of top American investor Warren Buffett.

Warren Buffett is the ultimate investor hero. He managed to increase the book value of his holding company by 18.24 percent annually since he took over Berkshire Hathaway in 1964. The stock price did even better, rising 19.93 percent a year. With that, the oracle from Omaha easily beats the broad S&P500 index. Buffett's track record makes Berkshire Hathaway the seventh-largest publicly traded company today, with a market capitalization of 652 billion euros.

Eight companies on the Brussels stock exchange outperformed Buffett over the past decade, Value Square' s 14th survey on the subject reveals (see table). Value Square defines value creation as the increase in book value (equity) added to dividends paid. When capital increases occur, for example, the manager makes adjustments.

The analysis of long-term value creation is not optional: it is one of the pillars on which the manager assesses the quality and risks of all companies. Value Square 's Belgian equity fund won this year's Fund Award from De Tijd and L'Echo.

Logistics above

‍VGP, the real estate developer that experienced a historically poor stock market year due to the 2022 interest rate hike, is grabbing the gold for the second year in a row, with an annual value creation of 26 percent.'VGP is surfing the long-term trend of e-commerce, which is in dire need of quality logistics real estate,' said Stan D. and Patrick Millecam, who conducted the study. 'We should not forget that VGP has achieved a stock market return of 396.7 percent over the past decade, including the poor 2022 stock market year (17.38 percent per year).'

The silver is for the fourth year in a row for chip designer MELEXIS, with an annual value creation of 22.4 percent. 'Increasing electrification and rising comfort and safety applications are increasing demand for chips in the automotive sector,' it sounds. Interestingly, MELEXIS ' 21.9 percent annual share price appreciation is particularly close to the value creation.

With WDP - Warehouses with brains (16.6% per year), bronze also goes to a logistics player. 'WDP has a very strong position in the Benelux and Romania. Romania's strategic location is a real asset. The country acts as a gateway to Western Europe and Asia.' Again, the annual stock market return (15.72%) leans very close to the value creation....

Disclaimer

This article was written at the initiative of De Tijd and was not sponsored by Value Square; it was reproduced in full.

Read the full article and accompanying table on the Time site.