Profits jump for both parent and spinoff

Article Excerpt

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $82.87 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 34.6 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Dividend yield: 0.8%) spun off its commercial real estate business, Colliers International Group, on June 1, 2015, and handed out shares to its investors. Since the spinoff, FirstService has carried on with its residential property management and its commercial and residential property improvement services. In the first quarter, ended March 31, 2017, the company’s revenue rose 22.2%, to $376.0 million from $307.6 million a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). Excluding one-time items, earnings per share for the quarter jumped 112.5%, to $0.17 from $0.08. The big gain was the result of cost savings as well as the higher revenue. The company’s outlook remains strong. The spinoff of Colliers International Group adds to the appeal. That’s because in most academic studies on the subject of spinoffs, both the parent and spinoff company do better than comparable firms for several years…