Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, what is the outlook for Richards Packaging? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

A: Richards Packaging Income Fund, $46.53, symbol RPI.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 11.0 million; Market cap: $526.6 million; www.richardspackaging.com), is a full-service packaging maker and distributor to small- and medium-sized North American businesses in the cosmetics (25% of sales), healthcare (40%), food & beverage, and other industries (35%). The fund first sold stock to the public at $10 a unit and began trading on Toronto in April 2004. In 2011, it decided to remain an income trust despite Ottawa’s move to drop tax breaks for businesses structured that way. Richards is the largest packaging distributor in Canada and the third largest in North America. It distributes more than 8,000 different types of cardboard, glass, and plastic packaging containers such as bottles, caps, trays and food cups. These products are sourced from over 600 suppliers and from Richards’ own manufacturing facilities. Over 18,000 regional food, beverage, cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical companies, spread across North America, make up the fund’s customer base. About 56% of…