Topic: How To Invest

Could you give me an opinion on Corby Distilleries? Might it be a buy?

Article Excerpt

Corby Distilleries Ltd., $17.70, symbol CDL.A on Toronto, and $16.71, symbol CDL.B on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 28.5 million; Market cap: $495.2 million; www.corby.ca) makes and markets spirits. It also imports wines. Corby’s brands include Wiser’s Deluxe and Special Blend rye whiskies, Lamb’s rum and Polar Ice vodka. Corby is also the Canadian distributor of brands belonging to its large multinational parent, French firm Pernod Ricard. Among these brands are Chivas Regal, Glenlivet and Ballantine’s Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Beefeater gin, Malibu rum, Kahlua liqueur, Mumm champagne, and Jacob’s Creek and Wyndham Estate wines. Pernod Ricard’s wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, Hiram Walker, holds a 51.6% stake in Corby. Hiram Walker’s Windsor, Ontario, plant produces 80% of Corby’s spirits. The remaining 20% comes from Corby’s Montreal plant. As part of a new plan to streamline its operations and focus on its more-profitable brands, Corby sold the Montreal plant and several smaller brands in October 2011. It received $39.4 million for these assets. In March 2006,…