Looking for lifeboats during what promises to be a tough time for the global economy? Well, Stock Spirits Group (LSE: STCK) is a brilliant buy for ISA investors to consider today, certainly in my opinion.
Alcohol sales don’t just hold up in times of social, macroeconomic, and geopolitical turmoil. They positively thrive, as data shows. It’s a theme this small-cap underlined in half-year financials released this month. In them, it said volumes leapt 8.4% in the six months to March. And, consequently, revenues boomed 15.1% year-on-year to €189.6m.
But don’t just buy Stock Spirits for its near-term resilience. This is a strong long-term ISA purchase too, owing to its core operations in Poland and Czechia. These are top European emerging economies that provide plenty of sales potential as wealth levels grow.
Cloud 9
IT services provider CloudCall Group (LSE: CALL) is another top ISA buy well-placed to thrive in a post-coronavirus landscape. In its own words, it provides cloud-based products that “allow customers’ staff to work remotely with full access to systems that they would use in their normal place of work.”
Businesses all over the globe are likely to invest heavily to allow their workers to plug in from home. It’s not just that lockdown has illustrated the benefits and efficacy of home working to many companies. It’s that they won’t want to be caught out by a second covornavirus wave or, indeed, a brand new pandemic.
A survey from Studio Graphene shows that just under half of UK businesses (49%) were ready to effectively transition to a landscape of home working when the lockdown started. The software developer says 48% of companies have had to invest in new technologies as a result. It’s a phenomenon that CloudCall has benefitted from, with the AIM entity commenting it has enjoyed “a flurry of orders from existing customers preparing for their staff to work from home.”
Another great ISA buy
CloudCall has, as you’d expect, seen a number of new customers postpone putting down an order more recently. But, as I say, its operations should benefit now that the consequences of Covid-19 are becoming clearer and companies spend to boost their tech capabilities.
It’s also in good shape to ride out the developing economic downturn better than many. Because of its ‘software as a service’ (or SaaS) model, it has brilliant earnings visibility as its customers are contracted. It also benefits from a more flexible cost base. Combined with its strong balance sheet — it currently has £13.1m of cash on the books — CloudCall looks in great shape to ride out the current storm.
I’m confident the tech play has all the tools to thrive in the long term. The company has seen revenues from the US explode in recent times. And it’s hoping to repeat the trick in Australia after launching there a couple of months ago. I’d happily buy CloudCall for my ISA today.
