Monday, June 6, 2011

SMC diversification paying off, say investment houses

Doris C. Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The 120-year-old San Miguel Corp. is starting to reap the fruits of its diversification into a conglomerate that no longer relies on its steady but maturing traditional businesses of food and beverage production, analysts said.
SMC, which is holding its annual stockholders’ meeting Tuesday, is now getting more coverage from foreign equity researchers for the first time since its entry into new businesses—power, oil refining, infrastructure, mining, banking and telecommunications—three years ago. Its shares have become more actively traded at the local stock exchange compared with the last two years when many investors were uncertain about its corporate strategy.
With its transformation, Goldman Sachs said in a May 31 report that SMC was now “well-placed” to benefit from the strong growth of its new businesses, citing its strong position in oil refining, power generation and electricity distribution (with its stake in Meralco).
“We believe SMC’s transformation is yet to be fully completed (oil refinery upgrade to be fully completed in end-2013 and material infrastructure contribution starts only in 2016), and see more potential upside from current levels,” Goldman Sachs added.

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