Savvy acquisitions lift Fortis

Article Excerpt

Dear client: Since 2004, Fortis has successfully used acquisitions to speed up its growth. Generally, we feel it pays to take a skeptical view of firms that use that strategy to fuel their expansion. That’s because hidden problems with new businesses can limit any expected profit increases. However, Fortis’s focus on well-established, regulated utilities cuts that risk. The steady cash flows from its new operations will also let the company extend its 43-year history of yearly dividend increases. FORTIS INC. $44 (Toronto symbol FTS; Income Growth Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 399.8 million; Market cap: $17.6 billion; Dividend yield 3.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.fortisinc.com) began supplying electricity to St. John’s, Newfoundland, in 1885. The company is now the main power utility in that province as well as PEI. In the past few years, Fortis has used acquisitions to cut its reliance on Atlantic Canada. In 2004, the company paid $1.5 billion for regulated power companies in Alberta and B.C. It later…