Versacold
formerly Toronto symbol ICE.UN, operates public refrigerated warehouses in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. The company was acquired by Iceland's Eimskip in 2007.
VERSACOLD INCOME FUND $10 (Toronto symbol ICE.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Units outstanding: 40.6 million; Market cap: $415.0 million; SI Rating: Extra risk) operates 72 public refrigerated warehouses in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. Farmers and major food companies use these facilities to temporarily store perishable foods. Versacold also offers transportation and logistics services.
In December …read more »
FPI LTD. $7.85 (Toronto symbol FPL) earned $0.25 a share in the third quarter of 2006 compared with a loss of $0.35 a year earlier, thanks to cost controls and the extra earnings from recent acquisitions. However, sales fell 15.4%, to $174.5 million from $206.2 million, due to lower selling prices for fish products and the high Canadian dollar. …read more »
FPI LTD. $7.85 earned $0.25 a share in the third quarter of 2006 compared with a loss of $0.35 a year earlier, thanks to cost controls and the extra earnings from recent acquisitions. However, sales fell 15.4%, to $174.5 million from $206.2 million, due to lower selling prices for fish products and the high Canadian dollar. Hold.
FORDING CANADIAN COAL TRUST …read more »
Our standing advice on income trusts is to limit them to one-sixth of your portfolio or less. In addition, we mainly recommend trusts that come out of trust conversions aimed at improving shareholder value.
We stay out of most new issues, trusts included. In our view, all too many new trust issues were callous attempts at cashing in on investor demand …read more »
VERSACOLD INCOME FUND $9.10 (Toronto symbol ICE.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; SI Rating: Extra risk) is one of the world’s leading operators of public refrigerated warehouses. Farmers and food processing companies use these facilities to store perishable foods.
In December 2005, Versacold paid $396.7 million for the refrigerated warehouse operations of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. That tripled Versacold’s …read more »
VERSACOLD INCOME FUND $8.85 (Toronto symbol ICE.UN; SI Rating: Extra risk) paid $396.7 million in December 2005 for the public refrigerated warehouse business of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. That made Versacold the world’s second-largest operator of refrigerated warehouses, with 74 locations in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.
Thanks to the P&O acquisition, Versacold’s income in …read more »
It pays to be skeptical of companies that grow by acquisition. Even the most promising acquisitions can come with hidden problems and unexpected costs that devastate the buyer’s finances.
However, some companies are strong enough to overcome the drawbacks of growing by acquisition. Here are four examples. Only three are buys right now, and then only for aggressive investors.
SAPUTO INC. $33 …read more »
BOMBARDIER INC. $3.02 continues to win new railcar contracts. It has just agreed to supply French National Railways with $343 million U.S. worth of trains. That’s equal to about 2% of Bombardier’s annual revenue. However, demand for the company’s planes, particularly regional jets, remains soft. Hold.
ARBOR MEMORIAL SERVICES INC. $22 earned $0.45 a share before unusual items in its fourth …read more »
