TIM HORTONS $59.06 (Toronto symbol THI; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.timhortons.com; Shares outstanding: 151.0 million; Market cap: $9.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.8%) has opened its first coffee-and-donut store in Kuwait under its franchise deal with Dubai-based Apparel Group. This is the company’s 32nd store in the Persian Gulf.
In February 2011, Tim Hortons signed a master license agreement with the Apparel Group to open 120 outlets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman over a five-year period.
So far, the company has focused on growing in the key UAE cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. But it also entered Oman with two locations in 2012.
Teaming up with well-established local companies like Apparel Group cuts the risk of expanding in unfamiliar markets.
Tim Hortons is a buy.