Hewitt fuels Toromont’s gains

Article Excerpt

TOROMONT INDUSTRIES LTD. $69 (Toronto symbol TIH; Aggressive Growth Portfolio; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares o/s: 81.2 million; Market cap: $5.6 billion; P/S ratio: 1.6; Divd yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.toromont.com) distributes a broad range of industrial equipment, including Caterpillar machinery, in eastern Canada. It also makes refrigeration systems through its CIMCO business. In October 2017, Toromont acquired Hewitt Group for $1.02 billion in cash and shares. That firm is the exclusive distributor of Caterpillar equipment in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Thanks to the purchase, Toromont’s revenue in the quarter ended December 31, 2018, rose 17.4%, to $966.0 million from $822.8 million a year earlier. Hewitt contributed $114.1 million in the quarter. Excluding that contribution, sales rose 7%. Earnings jumped 43.7%, to $84.9 million from $59.1 million. Hewitt contributed $21.4 million to the latest earnings. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings increased 42.5%, to $1.04 from $0.73. The stock trades at a reasonable 19.1 times the 2019 forecast earnings of $3.61 a share…