FMC spinoff will tap electric car market

Article Excerpt

FMC CORP. $88 (New York symbol FMC; Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 134.6 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; Dividend yield: 0.8%; www.fmc.com) is a diversified chemicals manufacturing company based in Philadelphia, with clients in the agricultural, industrial and consumer markets. In November 2017, FMC acquired part of the crop protection business of DowDuPont (New York symbol DWDP). At the same time, DowDuPont acquired FMC’s Health and Nutrition line. The transaction saw FMC pay DowDuPont $1.2 billion in cash. As a result, the company now has two main businesses: FMC Agricultural Solutions (88% of 2017 revenue) makes crop protection chemicals including insecticides, herbicides and fungicides; and FMC Lithium (12%) supplies lithium metal to makers of batteries, pharmaceuticals, greases and lubricants, and glass and ceramics. FMC’s revenue from ongoing operations rose 21.5%, from $2.37 billion in 2013 to $2.88 billion in 2017. However, the company’s earnings history is much more erratic. Its earnings fell 45.7%, from $2.47 a share (or a total of $342.4 million) in…