Topic: How To Invest

Pat: I would appreciate your perspective on Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Westshore Terminals Investment Corp., $34.34, symbol WTE on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 74.3 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; www.westshore.com), owns a coal storage and loading terminal at Roberts Bank, B.C., about 30 kilometres south of Vancouver. The terminal started up in 1970. Teck Resources accounts for 56% of the terminal’s volume, and other Canadian coal producers supply 12%. The remaining 32% comes from U.S. customers. Producers ship their coal to the terminal by rail. Westshore then loads it onto ships that deliver it to customers in over 20 countries. The company does not purchase the coal. Instead, it receives a handling fee for loading it. Westshore is now replacing some of the terminal’s equipment, including ship-loading systems and maintenance facilities. These upgrades will cost $275 million and should be ready by 2018. At that point, they will add around 3 million tonnes to the terminal’s annual capacity of 33 million. In addition to these costs, the company spends $12 million or so annually on…