alimentation couche-tard

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $63.74 (Toronto symbol ATD.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couche-tard.com; Shares outstanding: 179.4 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; Dividend yield: 0.6%) reports that its sales jumped 48.0% in the three months ended July 21, 2013, to $8.9 billion from $6.0 billion a year earlier.

The gain mostly came from Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA, which Couche-Tard bought for $2.7 billion in June 2012 (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). It also benefited from higher fuel volumes and merchandise sales.

Excluding one-time items, earnings rose 20.9%, to $220.0 million from $182.0 million. Earnings per share rose 16.0%, to $1.16 from $1.00, on more shares outstanding. The latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.95 a share.
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ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD, $60.74, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, rose almost 5% today after reporting its latest quarterly results. In the three months ended July 21, 2013, Couche-Tard’s sales jumped 48.0%, to $8.9 billion from $6.0 billion a year earlier. The gain mostly came from Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA, which Couche-Tard bought for $2.7 billion in June 2012 (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). The company also benefited from higher fuel volumes and merchandise sales. Couche-Tard gets about 30% of its revenue by selling merchandise. Excluding one-time items, earnings rose 20.9%, to $220.0 million from $182.0 million. Earnings per share rose 16.0%, to $1.16 from $1.00, on more shares outstanding. The latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.95 a share....

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $63.38 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couche-tard.com; Shares outstanding: 179.4 million; Market cap: $11.6 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) reports 44.9% higher sales in the three months ended April 28, 2013, up to $8.8 billion from $6.1 billion a year earlier....

PASON SYSTEMS INC., $19.23, symbol PSI on Toronto, has lost a patent dispute with its main competitor involving its AutoDriller product, which helps companies run their drilling operations more accurately and efficiently. The judgment awards the competitor $52.9 million of damages. Pason rents equipment for monitoring and managing land-based oil rigs. It also provides communication systems that companies use to remotely collect data from their drilling operations. The company serves oil and natural gas firms and drilling contractors throughout Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Argentina. In the three months ended March 31, 2013, Pason’s revenue fell 5.1%, to $109.3 million from $115.1 million a year earlier. Strong international sales were offset by slower drilling activity in the U.S. and Canada. Cash flow per share fell 7.9%, to $0.58 from $0.63. Pason holds cash of $168.9 million, or $2.06 a share, and has no debt....

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $63.38 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couche-tard.com; Shares outstanding: 179.4 million; Market cap: $11.6 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) reports 44.9% higher sales in the three months ended April 28, 2013, up to $8.8 billion from $6.1 billion a year earlier. The gain mostly came from Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA, which it bought for $2.7 billion in June 2012 (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars).

Excluding one-time items, earnings per share rose 7.0%, to $0.61 from $0.57. The latest earnings missed the consensus estimate of $0.77 a share, but that was because the latest quarter included upfront costs related to Statoil’s new computer systems and reporting software.

The company’s outlook is positive. But while high gasoline prices are pushing up the company’s sales, they’re also causing motorists to cut back on driving. That’s hurting its fuel sales volumes, which is cutting its profit margins on the fuel it does sell. As well, fewer customers at the pumps means less traffic through the company’s stores.

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ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES, $10.41, symbol AF on Toronto, reports that its sales rose 9.1% in the three months ended April 30, 2013, to $11.9 million from $10.9 million a year earlier. The company earned $1.3 million, or $0.11 a share, compared to a loss of $238,021, or $0.02 a share. AlarmForce’s revenue rose along with its subscriber base: the company ended the quarter with 31,200 U.S. customers, up 22.8% from 25,400 a year ago. In Canada, it now has 106,500 subscribers, up 1.8%. The company’s earnings rose because it spent a lot less on marketing than in the year-earlier quarter, when it increased its advertising spending as it launched its VideoRelay system. This service lets subscribers watch their homes through computers and smartphones....

METRO INC. $70 (Toronto symbol MRU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 95.2 million; Market cap: $6.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.metro.ca) earned $100.5 million in the 12 weeks ended March 16, 2013. This figure excludes a $266.4-million gain on the sale of about half its stake in Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (Toronto symbol ATD.B), which operates convenience stores in North America and Norway. The latest earnings are also up 4.4% from $96.3 million a year earlier. Metro used the sale proceeds to buy back shares. As a result, earnings per share rose 8.5%, to $1.02 from $0.94.

Sales fell 2.6%, to $2.5 billion from $2.6 billion, as the company closed some unprofitable supermarkets in Ontario. As well, the year-earlier quarter, which began on December 18, 2011, included the busy week before Christmas. Same-store sales were flat.

Metro is a buy....

METRO INC. $70 (Toronto symbol MRU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 95.2 million; Market cap: $6.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.metro.ca) earned $100.5 million in the 12 weeks ended March 16, 2013....

AEROPOSTALE INC. $12.76 (New York symbol ARO; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (646-485-5410; www.aeropostale.com; Shares outstanding: 78.3 million; Market cap: $999.1 million; No dividends paid) is a mall-based retailer of casual clothing and accessories. It now has 984 stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico that mainly target 14- to 17-year-old women and men....

When investors base buy and sell decisions on short-term market forecasts, they often experience notably poor investment results, or even lose money. This may come as a shock to them. In hindsight, it may seem that past market trends, up or down, should have been easy to foresee. But in fact, nobody consistently foresees these trends. That’s why most investors hurt their returns if they let short-term market forecasts have much of an impact on their investment decisions. This year, investors may feel tempted to follow the long-time saying that you should, “Sell in May and go away.” This saying is based on the observation that, over the years, stock prices have often gone sideways or dropped between May and October. This year, the sell-in-May rule may seem particularly timely. The market was stronger this year than many observers expected, so they may see it as over-due for a setback. The problem with this kind of analysis is that it fails to distinguish between causation and correlation. The pattern of falling stock prices between May and October may simply be a coincidence, like the pattern that may appear in a series of coin tosses or spins of a roulette wheel....