pension plan

Most income-seeking investors focus on utilities or banks instead of stocks in the more cyclical industrial sector. However, these four industrial firms are leaders in their niche industries, which helps cut their risk. As well, they have long histories of maintaining or raising their dividends, even during economic slowdowns.

GENUINE PARTS CO....

GENUINE PARTS CO. $69 (New York symbol GPC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 155.1 million; Market cap: $10.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) gets 49% of its sales and 50% of its earnings by selling auto parts. The company operates 1,300 of its own outlets under the NAPA banner, and its distribution business serves 4,750 independent stores across North America.

Genuine also distributes industrial parts (34% of sales, 33% of earnings), office furniture (13%, 12%) and electrical equipment (4%, 5%).

The company’s sales rose 4.5% in 2012, to $13.0 billion from $12.5 billion in 2011. Sales of auto parts rose 4%, partly due to an acquisition, while sales at the industrial products division gained 7%. Electrical equipment sales rose 5%. Sales of office products were flat.

...

Genivar Inc., $20.96, symbol GNV on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 51.1 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; www.genivar.com), is one of Canada’s largest engineering-services firms by number of employees, with 15,000. It has over 300 offices in 35 countries. The company provides consulting services for all stages of a project, including planning, design, construction and maintenance. It has clients in the public and private sectors. Genivar first sold units to the public at $10 each and began trading on Toronto in May 2006. It converted from an income trust to a corporation on January 1, 2011....

Torstar Corp., $7.71, symbol TS.B on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 79.9 million; Market cap: $616.0 million; www.torstar.com), continues to see weak advertising demand at its newspapers, including its flagship paper, The Toronto Star. Strong competition and unfavourable foreign exchange rates are also hurting profits at its Harlequin book-publishing subsidiary. As a result, Torstar’s earnings fell 44.1% in the three months ended September 30, 2012, to $14.1 million, or $0.18 a share, from $25.2 million, or $0.32 a share, a year earlier. If you exclude severance costs and other one-time items, Torstar’s earnings per share would have fallen 21.6%, to $0.29 from $0.37. That missed the consensus estimate of $0.33. Revenue fell 6.2%, to $355.3 million from $378.7 million. Revenue at the media division (which provides 70% of the total) fell 3.4%. However, cost cuts at this division put it in a strong position to increase its earnings as the economy expands. The company also plans to start charging users to access The Toronto Star’s website, which should boost revenue....

TELUS CORP., Toronto symbols T $64.00 and T.A $62.68, has revived its plan to merge its common shares (one vote per share) and its non-voting class A shares into a single class. Under the terms of the proposal, each non-voting share will become one common share. Investors in each share class, voting separately, must approve the plan at a special meeting on October 17, 2012. The company cancelled a vote on the proposal that was scheduled for May 2012 because it felt it had little chance of winning. That’s because U.S.-based hedge fund Mason Capital, which now owns around 19% of Telus’s common shares and a small portion of the non-voting shares, said it would vote against the plan. Mason is using a complex stock-trading strategy that would let it lock in a profit if shareholders reject the proposal....

BCE INC. $41.54 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 773.6 million; Market cap: $32.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.bce.ca) is teaming up with a group of other investors, including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, to buy privately held Q9 networks Inc.

Toronto-based Q9 provides data-storage and web-hosting services to businesses across Canada. It has 11 data centres in Ontario, Alberta and B.C.

This investment will help BCE take advantage of growing demand from business clients for reliable cloud-computing services (the general term for shifting software and data off of users’ machines and onto service providers’ machines via the Internet). The company already operates six data centres. It will open a seventh later this year.

...

BCE INC. $42 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 773.6 million; Market cap: $32.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 5.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) is joining a consortium of investors, including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, to buy privately held Q9 Networks Inc., which provides data-storage and web-hosting services to businesses across Canada. Q9 has 11 data centres in Ontario, Alberta and B.C.

This investment will help BCE take advantage of growing demand from business clients for reliable cloud-computing services. BCE already operates six data centres. It will open a seventh later this year.

BCE will pay $180 million for a 30% stake in Q9 when the deal closes, probably by the end of 2012. The purchase price is equal to 31% of the $580 million, or $0.75 a share, that BCE earned in the three months ended March 31, 2012.

...

BCE INC. $42 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 773.6 million; Market cap: $32.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 5.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) is joining a consortium of investors, including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, to buy privately held Q9 Networks Inc., which provides data-storage and web-hosting services to businesses across Canada. Q9 has 11 data centres in Ontario, Alberta and B.C. This investment will help BCE take advantage of growing demand from business clients for reliable cloud-computing services. BCE already operates six data centres. It will open a seventh later this year. BCE will pay $180 million for a 30% stake in Q9 when the deal closes, probably by the end of 2012. The purchase price is equal to 31% of the $580 million, or $0.75 a share, that BCE earned in the three months ended March 31, 2012....

BCE INC. $41.54 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 773.6 million; Market cap: $32.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.bce.ca) is teaming up with a group of other investors, including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, to buy privately held Q9 networks Inc. Toronto-based Q9 provides data-storage and web-hosting services to businesses across Canada. It has 11 data centres in Ontario, Alberta and B.C. This investment will help BCE take advantage of growing demand from business clients for reliable cloud-computing services (the general term for shifting software and data off of users’ machines and onto service providers’ machines via the Internet). The company already operates six data centres. It will open a seventh later this year....

BCE INC. $41 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 774.0 million; Market cap: $31.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 5.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) is
Canada’s largest provider of telephone services.

BCE’s main subsidiary, Bell Canada, has 6.1 million telephone customers in Ontario and Quebec, as well as 2.1 million high-speed Internet customers and 2.1 million TV subscribers. Bell Canada supplied 53% of BCE’s 2011 revenue.

...