Topic: How To Invest

Hi, Pat: How do you feel about buying MacDonald Dettwiler? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, $77.09, symbol MDA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 36.2 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; www.mdacorporation.com), offers space-based systems for delivering a range of services, including television and radio, broadband Internet and mobile communications. The company is a leading supplier of communication satellites, satellite-antenna subsystems, and associated ground infrastructure and support services. Its main customers in this area are makers and operators of communication satellites and government agencies worldwide. In the three months ended June 30, 2015, MacDonald Dettwiler’s revenue fell 5.2%, to $523.7 million from $552.7 million a year earlier. The decline mainly resulted from lower activity levels on the Radarsat Constellation Mission program. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share rose 4.0%, to $1.56 from $1.50. MacDonald Dettwiler holds cash of $18.6 million, or $0.51 a share. Its $877.6 million of long-term debt is a reasonable 31% of its $2.8-billion market cap. The company has a $2.6-billion order backlog. It recently signed a six-year contract with the European Space…