Topic: How To Invest

Dear Pat: What is your opinion on Carmanah Technologies Corp.? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Carmanah Technologies Corp., $4.72, symbol CMH on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 24.6 million; Market cap: $116.2 million; www.carmanah.com), sells solar-powered LED lighting as well as other solar-powered systems. The company contracts out most of its manufacturing. Carmanah’s light beacons are used for marine navigation and on runways and roads. Other uses include school-zone flashers, transit stops and internally lit traffic signs. The company also makes lighting for industrial users, including warning lights, equipment-marking lights, and railway-track and bridge markers. Since Carmanah began operating in 1996, it has sold lighting for over 400,000 installations in 110 countries. Here in Canada, uncertainty over Ontario’s Feed-In Tariff program, which subsidizes solar power producers, caused many of the company’s customers to postpone new orders. As a result, the company’s revenue fell 27.9%, from $35.9 million in 2011 to $25.9 million in 2013 (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Through acquisitions, Carmanah was then able to improve revenue. In July 2014, it paid…