Lower costs give Nova an edge

Article Excerpt

Nova Chemicals Corp. $26 (Toronto symbol NCX Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 83.1 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; SI Rating: Extra risk) earned $0.21 a share (total $18 million) in the second quarter of 2008, down 78.1% from $0.96 a share ($80 million) a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). If you exclude an $87 million loss on a hedging contract and other unusual items, earnings fell 1.2% to $83 million from $84 million. Per-share earnings were unchanged at $1.00. Revenue rose 29.4%, to $2.2 billion from $1.7 billion. Demand for plastics is cyclical, and could weaken with the U.S. economy. However, Nova’s heavy use of natural gas from Alberta gives it a cost advantage over its main competitors in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. They rely on more expensive crude oil. Nova Chemicals is a buy. buy…