Over the last five years, the FTSE 100 index hasn’t exactly been the best performer. In fact, excluding dividends, it’s generated a lacklustre return of around 3%. To be fair, the ongoing pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the UK economy. So it’s not exactly surprising that the index hasn’t fared too well.
Having said that, as the vaccine rollout continues and companies accelerate their recovery, the FTSE 100 has made a bit of a comeback. Over the past 12 months, its price has risen by over 11% and consequently, it’s on the verge of returning to pre-pandemic levels. But even if it can continue delivering these returns moving forward, I’ve spotted three individual growth stocks that I’d buy today instead.
The music industry is back with a vengeance
With the pandemic spreading worldwide, the music sector suffered a major blow as live events, and recording sessions had to be delayed or cancelled. But despite this inconvenience, Focusrite (LSE:TUNE) stormed ahead. The company is a designer and manufacturer of audio equipment and software.
Relatively speaking, this is quite a niche market with a lot of competition. And cancelled live events did disrupt its income from equipment sales and rentals. However, management was more than able to mitigate the impact through its home-studio products.
As such, revenue continued to surge by double-digits, and the stock has followed suit, beating the FTSE 100’s 12-month performance by 53%!
Improving consumer health with flavour
There continues to be increased awareness of general wellbeing, thanks in part to the pandemic. And that’s what brought Treatt (LSE:TET) onto my radar. This chemicals company uses organic materials to create flavours and fragrances for the beverage, consumer healthcare, and perfume industries. Most notably is its work to find sugar alternatives in the fight against obesity.
The group has suffered at the hands of Covid-19 as its supply chains have been challenged. It’s had to contend with inflationary pressures regarding the purchase of raw materials. However, management must have successfully passed these increased costs onto customers because profits are up.
Just like Focusrite, Treatt has also outperformed the FTSE 100 index over the past year, generating a return of 64% for shareholders.
Outperforming the FTSE 100 with electricity
With travel restrictions brought in to slow the spread of the virus, Tracsis (LSE:TRCS) also saw a slowdown in demand for its services, and its profits suffered considerably for it. So it’s not surprising that debt levels are significantly higher today than before the pandemic. But that soon might no longer be a problem.
This group provides a range of transport solution services, including using electrical signals to detect irregularities within railway lines. It’s also a niche target market. But maintaining Britain’s railways remains essential to the recovering domestic travel sector. And with the government planning to upgrade the UK rail network, Tracsis looks like it’s got plenty of growth opportunities ahead.
This is all my opinion, of course. But the market seems to agree. This stock has climbed 57% in the last 12 months, vastly outperforming the FTSE 100 index.