merger

PFIZER INC. $23 (New York symbol PFE; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 7.5 billion; Market cap: $172.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pfizer.com) is the world’s largest pharmaceutical drug maker. Its top-selling brands include Lipitor (for high cholesterol), Lyrica (epilepsy), Celebrex (arthritis pain), Viagra (erectile dysfunction), Xalatan (glaucoma), Norvasc (hypertension) and Zyvox (bacterial infections). The company is also the world’s fifth-largest maker of over-the-counter drugs. Its major brands include Advil (pain relief), Centrum (vitamins) and Robitussin (cough syrup).

Pfizer gets about a third of its revenue by selling its products to drug wholesalers. The other two-thirds come from direct sales to retailers, hospitals, clinics and government agencies. Overseas markets supply 60% of its revenue.

Acquisitions added top-selling drugs

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PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. $8.96 (Toronto symbol PGF; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 360.3 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 9.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.pengrowth.com) has a long history of using acquisitions to expand, which adds risk. However, these purchases have increased its reserves and cash flow. Its latest acquisition is NAL Energy Corp. (Toronto symbol NAE). NAL investors will receive 0.86 of a Pengrowth common share for each share they hold. That will give them 26% of the combined company. The deal should close by May 31, 2012. Adding NAL’s properties in Alberta and B.C. (54% natural gas and 46% oil) will increase Pengrowth’s projected 2012 production by about 16%, to between 86,000 and 89,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day....

PENGROWTH ENERGY $9.12 (Toronto symbol PGF; Shares outstanding: 329.3 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 9.2%; www.pengrowth.com) is buying rival oil producer NAL Energy Corp. (Toronto symbol NAE) in an all-stock transaction. NAL shareholders and regulators must still approve the plan, but the companies aim to complete the merger by May 31, 2012. Adding NAL’s properties in Alberta and B.C. (54% natural gas and 46% oil) will increase Pengrowth’s projected 2012 production to between 86,000 and 89,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from its earlier range of 74,500 to 76,500 barrels....

PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP., $9.78, Toronto symbol PGF, is buying rival oil producer NAL Energy Corp. (Toronto symbol NAE) in an all-stock transaction. Under the terms of the deal, NAL investors will receive 0.86 of a Pengrowth common share for each share they hold. That will give them 26% of the combined company. The plan needs shareholder and other approvals, but Pengrowth and NAL aim to complete the merger by May 31, 2012. Adding NAL’s properties in Alberta and B.C. (54% natural gas and 46% oil) will increase Pengrowth’s projected 2012 production to between 86,000 and 89,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, from its earlier range of 74,500 to 76,500 barrels....

Carnival Corp., $30.32, symbol CCL on New York, and its affiliate, Carnival plc, symbol CCL on the London Stock Exchange (Shares outstanding: 777.1 million; Market cap: $18.1 billion; www.carnivalcorp.com), operate as single business but have separate exchange listings. The combined company is the world’s largest cruise ship operator, with 99 vessels. It took its current form in 2003 through the merger of Carnival and rival P&O Princess. Apart from Carnival Cruise Lines, the company’s major brands include Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Costa Cruises and Cunard Line. The company also operates ports and hotels....

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $197.76, New York symbol IBM, is now developing software that helps prevent online data theft. The company’s analytics software already helps businesses and governments quickly gather and analyze a wide range of data. This technology is used in many ways, from easing traffic congestion in cities to making power grids more efficient. This week, IBM demonstrated software that can detect and prevent unauthorized access to databases by analyzing certain patterns, such as failed login attempts. This product could be in huge demand, particularly in light of recent high-profile attacks on U.S. government websites....

Alterra Power Corporation, $0.57, symbol AXY on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 465.1 million; Market cap: $265.1 million, www.plutonic.ca), was formed through the merger of Magma Energy and Plutonic Power in May 2011. The company owns 191 megawatts of geothermal capacity in Iceland and Nevada, 235 megawatts of run-of-river hydro capacity in B.C and 144 megawatts of wind capacity in B.C. Alterra has a number of development projects underway, including an expansion of its Reykjanes plant in Iceland and a project in Chile. As well, the company continues to work with partner General Electric on hydrological and financial analyses related to the Upper Toba hydro development in B.C. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, Alterra’s revenue jumped to $17.0 million from $8.3 million a year earlier (all figures expect share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). The company lost $0.02 a share in the latest quarter, compared to a profit of $0.02 a share. Cash flow was positive, at $0.003 compared to $0.025 a year earlier....

Rising raw material costs are a growing challenge for these two beverage makers. However, their well-known brands give them strong customer loyalty. That makes it easier for them to raise prices without hurting sales volumes. Their growing overseas operations also enhance their long-term prospects. PEPSICO INC. $64 (New York symbol PEP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $102.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pepsico.com) is the world’s second-largest soft-drink maker after Coca-Cola. It also makes other products, such as Frito-Lay snack foods, Tropicana fruit juices and Quaker Oats. PepsiCo recently raised its selling prices in response to rising ingredient costs. That’s the main reason why its sales rose 13.3% in the quarter ended September 3, 2011, to $17.6 billion from $15.5 billion a year earlier. In June 2011, PepsiCo paid $3.8 billion for Wimm-Bill-Dann, Russia’s largest dairy and juice company. This accounted for a third of the sales gain. Without unusual items, mainly costs to integrate recent acquisitions, earnings per share rose rose 7.4%, to $1.31 from $1.22....

MOLSON COORS BREWING CO. $42 (New York symbol TAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 181.1 million; Market cap: $7.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) is the world’s fifth-largest brewer by volume.

The company continues to realize savings from the June 2008 merger of its operations in the U.S. with those of rival brewer SABMiller to form MillerCoors.

Including its share of the savings from MillerCoors, Molson Coors cut its overall costs by $29 million in the quarter ended September 24, 2011. However, those savings were offset by rising ingredient costs, which pushed down earnings by 11.2%, to $212.4 million, or $1.14 a share. A year earlier, Molson Coors earned $239.1 million, or $1.28 a share.

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Carnival Corp. operate as a single business but have separate exchange listings. Stock market investments: Carnival increases earnings despite jump in fuel costs.