Happy St Patrick Day Fools! In order to get into the spirit of Ireland's national day I've taken a look at what might be some of the best shares available to add a little Irish exposure to your share portfolio.
You won't want any Irish-style exposure in your property portfolio, after its property market infamously crashed around 55% between 2007 to 2013 according to the latest government-backed industry estimates. Ouch! Still it could never happen in Australia….
You also might need a little luck of the Irish to make profits on the following shares as well, as it seems the local stock market is not blessed with Aussie / Gaelic equity investment opportunities. Still, for those up for the craic, I have three potential opportunities below.
Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) is the furniture and home ware retailer that has popular franchised operations in Ireland. Harvey Norman shares are up 144% over the past five years as its business continues to benefit from rising household wealth and property prices. The business model also partly relies on extending consumers credit to buy now, pay later, for expensive furniture items.
Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) is the fast-expanding diagnostic health care imaging business that has been expanding aggressively overseas into markets such as the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Ireland. Its UK and Ireland operations accounted for 7% of revenues in H1 2017. The shares are up 84% over the past five years and sell for $21.16 today.
Virtus Health Ltd (ASX: VHT) is the IVF healthcare business that has three fertility clinics in Ireland that are positively growing earnings before income tax. The Irish government is also considering further funding for fertility services according to Virtus Health. The shares hit the ASX boards back in June 2013, but have edged lower on the back of weaker-than-expected sales growth in its core Australian market.
Of the three companies I above I would look to Virtus or Sonic as the best Paddy's Day investment options, although there are probably far better opportunities elsewhere….
