Efficiency helps ease tariff troubles

Article Excerpt

LINAMAR CORP. $43 (Toronto symbol LNR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 65.3 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.linamar.com) makes a variety of automotive parts, including cylinder heads and cylinder blocks. It also makes self-propelled, scissor-type work platforms under the Skyjack brand as well as agricultural harvesting equipment. The company’s sales in the three months ended June 30, 2019, fell 3.3%, to $2.09 billion from $2.16 billion a year earlier. Sales for Linamar’s transportation business (71% of the total) fell 1.3% on slowing demand from makers of passenger cars. Industrial equipment sales (29%) declined 7.9% partly because rising tariffs hurt sales of agricultural equipment. The lower overall revenue brought down Linamar’s earnings in the quarter by 18.1%, to $2.40 a share from $2.93. The company nonetheless continues to increase its market share and control its costs. Linamar is still a buy. buy. …