Online boosts winemaker’s sales

Article Excerpt

ANDREW PELLER LTD. (A shares) is still a buy. The company (Toronto symbols ADW.A $11 and ADW.B $11; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 43.7 million; Market cap: $480.7 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.0%; www.andrewpeller.com) is Canada’s second-largest wine producer, after Arterra Wines. For the fiscal 2021 second quarter, ended September 30, 2020, Peller’s sales gained 1.0%, to $104.41 million from $103.38 million a year earlier. Higher sales through provincially owned liquor stores and other channels—including its new online store (www.thewineshops.com)—offset lower sales to restaurants. Those customers continue to operate at reduced capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions. Thanks to lower advertising and promotional spending, earnings per share in the quarter jumped 66.7%, to $0.30 from $0.18. If you adjust for gains on contracts that Peller uses to hedge interest and currency exchange rates, earnings still rose 42.5% in the quarter. Andrew Peller is a buy. buy. …