CAE’s cost savings cut your risk

Article Excerpt

CAE INC. $35 is still a buy. The company (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 282.8 million; Market cap: $9.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend suspended in March 2020; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) delivered 10 flight simulators in the quarter ended December 31, 2020. That’s down from 12 a year earlier. The company’s pilot-training facilities also operated at just 33% of capacity. As a result, overall revenue in the quarter fell 9.9%, to $832.4 million from $923.5 million a year earlier. Earnings also dropped 40.5%, to $0.22 a share before one-time items (or a total of $60.0 million) from $0.37 a share (or $99.4 million). In response to the lower demand, CAE is cutting jobs and closing some facilities. It expects these moves will cost $140 million. However, the plan should cut between $65 million and $70 million from its annual expenses, starting in fiscal 2022. Those savings will help fuel its profit growth as the pandemic eases and…