Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Can I have your views on Corby Distilleries? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Corby Distilleries, $15.00, symbol CDL.A on Toronto and $14.50, symbol CDL.B on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 28.5 million; Market cap: $413.3 million) makes and markets spirits. It also imports wines. Corby’s own brands include Wiser’s Deluxe and Special Blend rye whiskies, Lamb’s rum, Polar Ice vodka and Seagram’s coolers. As well, Corby is the Canadian distributor of brands belonging to its large global parent, French firm Pernod Ricard. These include Chivas Regal, the Glenlivet and Ballantine’s scotches, 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 51.2% stake in Corby’s. Hiram Walker’s Windsor, Ontario, plant produces 73% of Corby’s spirits. Corby’s Montreal plant supplies the remaining 27%. The company outsources cooler production to a third party. In March 2006, Corby bought the right to represent Pernod Ricard’s brands in Canada for 15 years. Corby also added Pernod Ricard’s international rights to Lamb’s rum (Corby already…