Gretzky brand lifts profits for Peller

Article Excerpt

ANDREW PELLER LTD. (Toronto symbols ADW.A $11 and ADW.B $11; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 42.6 million; Market cap: $468.6 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.andrewpeller.com) is Canada’s second-largest producer of wines, after Constellation Brands. Peller’s sales in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, rose 2.5%, to $342.6 million from $334.4 million in 2016. That’s mainly due to strong demand for premium-priced wines, including those the company produces under a long-term licencing deal with hockey star Wayne Gretzky. Peller also recently opened a new facility that will make both wine and whisky under that Gretzky brand. Earnings in 2017 jumped 39.1%, to $0.64 a share from $0.46 (all pershare amounts adjusted for a 3-for-1 stock split in October 2016). If you exclude a tax refund and other unusual items, earnings gained 16.1%. The company has now raised its quarterly dividend by 10.3%. Starting with the July 2017 payment, investors receive $0.045 a share, up from…