Emera is growing on all fronts

Article Excerpt

EMERA INC. $42 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 144.8 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) owns 100% of Nova Scotia Power, that province’s main electricity supplier. This business supplies 45% of Emera’s revenue and a third of its earnings. In the past few years, the company has steadily expanded into other regions, mainly through acquisitions. It now owns or invests in several power plants and natural gas pipelines in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Thanks to these new operations, Emera’s revenue rose 85.0%, from $1.6 billion in 2010 to $3.0 billion in 2014. Erratic earnings history Earnings improved from $1.67 a share (or a total of $190.7 million) in 2010 to $1.99 a share (or $241.1 million) in 2011. They then fell to $1.77 a share (or $220.8 million) in 2012 and $1.64 a share (or $217.5 million) in 2013. However, profits shot up to $2.84 a..