price to sales ratio

INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC. $63 (New York symbol IFF; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 80.3 million; Market cap: $5.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.iff.com) makes compounds that improve the taste of food and the smell of a variety of consumer products. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, sales rose 9.2%, to $714.3 million from $653.9 million a year earlier. Excluding a charge due to a plant closure in Europe in the year-earlier quarter, earnings per share would have risen 21.2%, to $1.03 from $0.85. IFF’s sales continue to rise in emerging markets, where more people can now afford packaged foods and scented products. It is also profiting from rising demand for more appealing foods in North America and other developed markets....

CANON INC. ADRs $46 (New York symbol CAJ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $59.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canon.com) suffered little damage from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Production of its printers, digital cameras and other equipment has nearly returned to normal levels. Meanwhile, Canon reported that its sales rose 24.5% in the three months ended March 31, 2011, to $10.1 billion from $8.1 billion a year earlier. However, costs related to the integration of an acquisition cut earnings to $0.54 per ADR from $0.55 (each American Depositary Receipt represents one common share). Canon is a buy.

Prices of many commodities have moved down from their recent peaks on concerns about the global economic recovery. Rather than selling, the best way to cut your risk in the volatile resource sector is to stick with well-established mining companies with high-quality reserves like Newmont, Alcoa and BHP. As well, these firms mainly operate in politically stable areas, like North America and Australia. NEWMONT MINING CORP. $54 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 493.7 million; Market cap: $26.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) gets 85% of its revenue from its gold mines in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Indonesia and Ghana. The remaining 15% comes from copper, silver, zinc and other metals....

BHP BILLITON LTD. ADRs $90 (New York symbol BHP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; ADRs outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $243.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.6; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bhpbilliton.com) plans to spend $80 billion over the next five years on several new growth projects....

APPLE INC. $322 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 924.8 million; Market cap: $297.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apple.com) has agreed to settle a long-running patent dispute with rival cellphone maker Nokia Corp. (New York symbol NOK). The company did not reveal the details of the settlement. However, it will likely make a one-time payment of several million dollars. In addition, Apple will probably pay Nokia a royalty based on future iPhone sales. As well, the company will soon launch iCloud, a new free service that will let users store music, videos and other files on remote servers. Users can then access these files over the Internet through iPhones and other Apple devices. Apple believes iCloud will spur sales of iPods, iPhones and iPads, as well as sales of music and movies from its iTunes online store....

PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V. ADRs $23 (New York symbol PHG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $23.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 4.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.philips.com) is transferring its struggling television manufacturing operations to a new joint venture with Hong Kong-based TPV Technology. The company will own 30% of this joint venture, which will make TV sets under the Philips brand. Philips expects to close the deal by the end of 2011. The company earned 0.14 euros per ADR in the three months ended March 31, 2011 (1 euro = $1.40 Canadian; each American Depositary Receipt represents one Philips common share.) That’s down 36.4% from 0.22 euros per ADR a year earlier, mainly due to the losses at the TV operations. Sales rose 5.5% in the quarter, to 5.3 billion euros from 5.0 billion euros. All three of Philips’ businesses contributed to the higher sales: health-care equipment (up 8.2%), lighting (up 5.1%), and consumer products, such as electric shavers (up 4.5%)....

MACY’S INC. $28 (New York symbol M, Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 426.8 million; Market cap: $12.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.macysinc.com) has rebounded strongly since falling to below $7 in March 2009. That’s mainly due to the success of its “My Macy’s” strategy, which lets managers at its 810 Macy’s and 41 Bloomingdale’s department stores customize their merchandise to local tastes. The company’s sales fell 12.9%, from $27.0 billion in 2007 to $23.5 billion in 2010 (fiscal years end January 31). In 2011, the first full year of the My Macy’s initiative, sales rose 6.4%, to $25.0 billion. Same-store sales rose 4.6% in 2011. That’s a big improvement over 2010’s 5.3% decline....

Beer demand has slowed in Canada and other developed countries, due to high unemployment and the weak economic recovery. However, sales are growing strongly in emerging markets, where rising prosperity is making beer more affordable. Molson Coors is well-positioned to profit from this trend. The company owns some of the world’s top beer brands, particularly Coors Light. As well, it is forming partnerships with local brewers. Teaming up with well-established producers helps cut the risk of expanding in unfamiliar markets. Moreover, the company’s recent mergers continue to save it money. It is using these savings to expand and raise its dividend....

These three leading industrial companies all face rising costs for labour and raw materials. However, all three continue to win new contracts that will help them offset these expenses. Moreover, all three continue to trade at attractive multiples to earnings. SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $55 (Toronto symbol SNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 150.8 million; Market cap: $8.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.snclavalin.com) continues to win new contracts, thanks in part to its strong reputation. SNC is a leading Canadian engineering and construction company. It designs and builds large-scale public-works projects, such as roads, bridges, transit systems and water-treatment plants. It also builds mines, chemical plants and electrical-power systems....

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $54 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $75.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) earned $1.5 billion, or $1.00 a share, in its 2011 second quarter, which ended April 30, 2011. That’s up 13.3% from $1.3 billion, or $0.88 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 2.4%, to $7.1 billion from $7.0 billion. The quality of the bank’s loan portfolio continues to improve. It cut its loan-loss provisions by 31.7% in the latest quarter, to $344 million from $504 million. Royal also saw strong earnings gains at its wealth management (up 144.4%), insurance (up 36.4%) and Canadian banking (up 15.6%) divisions. Royal also raised its quarterly dividend by 8.0%, to $0.54 a share from $0.50. The new annual rate of $2.16 yields 4.0%....