acquisition

A big change for Hershey after 110 years in business, as it moves to “healthier,” more natural ingredients in its chocolate bars and candies.

The Hershey Co., $102.43, symbol HSY on New York (Shares outstanding: 160.2 million; Market cap: $22.3 billion; www.hersheys.com), is the largest maker of candy and other sweets in the U.S. Its major brands are Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Mounds and Milk Duds.

In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Hershey’s revenue rose 2.7%, to $2.01 billion from $1.96 billion a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share gained 20.9%, to $1.04 from $0.86. Earnings rose faster than revenue because the company was able to raise its prices while cutting costs.

Hershey holds cash of $472.0 million, or $2.95 a share. Its $1.5 billion of long-term debt is a low 6.7% of its $22.3-billion market cap.

In February 2015, the company announced plans to use simpler ingredients in response to consumers’ shift toward more natural and locally sourced foods. The move came a day after the U.S. division of Swiss rival Nestle announced a similar plan.

Hershey’s new ingredients include locally produced milk and almonds from California. The company will also use more non-genetically modified sugar and milk from cows that haven’t been treated with hormones. As well, it will avoid artificial flavours and colours.

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A: Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd., $15.04, symbol LIQ on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 27.3 million; Market cap: $408.4 million; www.liquorstoresna.ca), is North America’s largest private liquor store operator, with 244 outlets. Of that total, 173 are in Alberta, 35 are in B.C., 23 are in Alaska and 13 are in Kentucky.

Liquor Stores’ banners include Liquor Depot, Liquor Barn and Brown Jug.

Alberta privatized retail liquor sales in 1993, prompting Irv Kipnes to found Liquor Depot and Henry Bereznicki to start Liquor World that year. Kipnes and Bereznicki, both Edmonton-based real estate developers, merged their companies and founded Liquor Stores Income Fund in 2004. The fund first sold units to the public at $10 each and began trading on Toronto in September 2004.

Liquor Stores Income Fund converted to a corporation on December 31, 2010, in response to Ottawa’s income trust tax.

The company’s strategy is to offer more choice, typically two to three times more products than its competitors. Liquor Stores lets each location juggle its product mix to meet local tastes.

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ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD INC., $49.29, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, operates 6,314 convenience stores throughout North America. The Canadian outlets operate under the Couche-Tard and Mac’s banners, while the U.S. stores mainly use the Circle K brand. In Europe, Couche-Tard operates 2,233 stores across Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), Poland, the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and Russia. In the three months ended February 1, 2015, Couche-Tard’s sales rose just 1.7%, to $2.33 billion from $2.29 billion a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). The higher U.S. dollar cut the revenue contribution from the company’s European operations....

ACI WORLDWIDE $21.09 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (402-334-5101; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 114.9 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion; No dividends paid) makes software for processing transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and interbank payments. The company’s products also help cut fraud. Clients include leading global retailers, plus two-thirds of the world’s 100 largest banks. ACI’s industry-leading products continue to attract prominent clients. For example, the company provides the technology behind Apple Inc.’s new mobile payment system, called Apple Pay. ACI’s revenue rose 17.5% in 2014 to $1.02 billion from $864.9 million in 2013. That was mainly due to contributions from acquisitions, including the purchase in August 2014 of Retail Decisions (ReD) for $205 million....

CHEMTRADE LOGISTICS INCOME FUND $21.38 (Toronto symbol CHE.UN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-496-5856; www.chemtradelogistics .com; Units outstanding: 68.5 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; Dividend yield: 5.6%) is one of North America’s largest providers of removal services for resource firms, such as oil refineries and base metal processors, whose operations create sulphur, acid and other by-products. Chemtrade converts these substances into useful chemicals, like sulphuric acid. The company’s revenue rose 55.4% in the three months ended December 31, 2014, to $313.3 million from $201.6 million a year earlier. That’s largely due to General Chemical, which Chemtrade bought for $900 million U.S. in January 2014. General makes a range of chemicals, including aluminum sulphate, aluminum chlorohydrate and ferric sulphate (all of which are used in water treatment), as well as ingredients for prescription drugs, nutritional supplements and veterinary products....

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $38 (Toronto symbol SNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 152.5 million; Market cap: $5.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.snclavalin.com) earned $106.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, up 0.6% from $106.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share were unchanged at $0.70. These figures exclude a gain on the sale of AltaLink, which operates power lines in Alberta.

Revenue jumped 32.7%, to $2.8 billion from $2.1 billion, due to the recent acquisition of U.K.-based Kentz, which provides engineering and construction services to the oil and gas industry.

The stock has suffered lately, mainly due to formal charges against the company for using bribes to win construction contracts in Libya between 2001 and 2011. These are the same allegations that prompted SNC to replace its senior executives in 2012 and bring in a new program to enforce ethical practices.

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SASOL LTD. (ADR), $32.04, symbol SSL on New York, has developed a technology to convert coal and natural gas into motor fuels. The company is the world’s largest producer of fuel from coal at its Secunda, South Africa, facility. It also makes synthetic fuels from natural gas at plants in Qatar and Nigeria. As well, Sasol produces chemicals, oil and gas in Africa. It’s also South Africa’s third-largest coal producer. In its fiscal 2015 first half, which ended December 31, 2014, Sasol’s revenue rose 1.6%, to 99.8 billion South African rand (1 rand = $0.1099 U.S.) from 98.2 billion rand a year earlier. Earnings per ADR gained 6.0%, to 32.00 rand from 30.19 rand. The U.S. dollar rose against the rand, increasing the value of Sasol’s sales outside South Africa. That offset a 19% decline in realized oil prices....

DirectCash Payments Inc., a leading ATM operator in Canada, Australia and the U.K. this Canadian firm keeps on expanding through a series of small takeovers

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $38 (Toronto symbol SNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 152.5 million; Market cap: $5.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.snclavalin.com) earned $106.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, up 0.6% from $106.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share were unchanged at $0.70. These figures exclude a gain on the sale of AltaLink, which operates power lines in Alberta. Revenue jumped 32.7%, to $2.8 billion from $2.1 billion, due to the recent acquisition of U.K.-based Kentz, which provides engineering and construction services to the oil and gas industry. The stock has suffered lately, mainly due to formal charges against the company for using bribes to win construction contracts in Libya between 2001 and 2011. These are the same allegations that prompted SNC to replace its senior executives in 2012 and bring in a new program to enforce ethical practices....