Agricultural equipment cuts Linamar’s risk

Article Excerpt

LINAMAR CORP. $51 (Toronto symbol LNR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 65.4 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 0.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.linamar.com) makes a variety of automotive parts, including cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, camshafts, crankshafts and connecting rods. It also makes self-propelled, scissor-type work platforms under the Skyjack brand as well as a variety of other machinery for industrial clients. To cut its exposure to automakers, Linamar acquired the MacDon Group of Companies for $1.2 billion in February 2018. Based in Winnipeg, that firm makes agricultural harvesting equipment. Linamar merged those operations with its agricultural business in Hungary. Due to that acquisition, overall sales in the three months ended December 31, 2018, rose 10.0%, to $1.73 billion from $1.57 billion a year earlier. Sales for Linamar’s transportation business (80% of the total) moved up slightly by 0.9%. That’s mainly because higher demand from automakers in North America offset declines in Europe and Asia. Favourable currency…