A top pick for low-risk global growth

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC. $86 (New York symbol IFF; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 81.5 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.iff.com) makes over 36,000 unique compounds that improve the taste of foods and the smell of a wide variety of consumer products. Major clients include Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Kraft, Unilever and General Mills. The company has two divisions: Flavors, which makes ingredients for soups, soft drinks and gum; and Fragrances, which produces compounds for soaps, detergents and air fresheners. Each business supplies roughly half of IFF’s sales and earnings. Big opportunity in emerging markets IFF continues to benefit from its plan to focus on fast-growing countries like China, India and Brazil. It now gets 75% of its sales from outside the U.S. and 45% from emerging markets. However, that also increases its exposure to volatile foreign currency rates. Unfavourable exchange rates pushed down IFF’s sales…