Transcontinental turns to new markets

Article Excerpt

TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $18 (Toronto symbol TCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 78.1 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.tctranscontinental.com) is Canada’s leading printer of flyers, magazines, newspapers and books. Commercial printing supplies 73% of its revenue. The remaining 27% of sales comes from publishing 185 weekly newspapers in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The company’s media division also helps its clients create and manage their direct mail and online marketing campaigns. Due to acquisitions of printing plants and an online advertising firm, revenue rose 6.2%, from $1.99 billion in 2011 to $2.11 billion in 2012 (fiscal years end October 31). Lower advertising revenue and the sale of assets cut overall revenue to $2.10 billion in 2013, and to $1.99 billion in 2014. Revenue then rose to $2.00 billion in 2015. Acquisitions spurred recent earnings The company’s earnings declined from $1.92 a share (or a total of $155.3 million) in 2011 to…