Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What is your view of Badger Daylighting? Has it gotten too expensive, or is it a worthwhile addition to my portfolio?

Article Excerpt

Badger Daylighting, $95.32, symbol BAD on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 12.3 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; www.badgerinc.com), provides excavating services that are less destructive than methods involving heavy equipment, such as backhoes. Most of its customers are in the utility and petroleum industries. Badger’s main product is the truck-mounted Badger Hydrovac, for digging in challenging conditions, such as congested areas. The system liquefies the soil with a pressurized water stream, then a powerful vacuum removes it and stores it in a tank. The company functions through what it calls operating partners in the U.S. and Canada. Badger provides the expertise, trucks and marketing and administration support, and the partners operate the equipment and build relationships with customers. There are 340 Badger Hydrovac units operating in Canada and 408 in the U.S. Badger invoices the work and shares the revenue with the partners based on a formula. In certain areas, it has established its own company-run Hydrovac operations to market and deliver…