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Green Fund Managers' Favorite
Profits keep rising at building efficiency leader Johnson Controls. No wonder the fund managers love it.
Writing at Seeking Alpha under the title "5 Sustainable Investments Everyone Should Consider", fund manager Matthew Moscardi describes Johnson Controls as a favorite of alternative energy fund managers.
He says other incentives for the stock include a history of increasing dividends since 1985, a currently deflated price-earnings ratio and the company's ability to avoid sector risk through exposure to a variety of industries.
Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls has its roots in the invention of the electric room thermostat in the early 1880s by Professor Warren Johnson of Wisconsin, launching the building control industry.
Today it is a leader in three broad industries.
It provides a full range of building efficiency equipment to control heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, security and fire management in non-residential buildings.
It is the world's largest manufacturer of lead acid automotive batteries, producing more than 120 million annually, and it is developing other kinds of batteries to power hybrid vehicles.
It is also a leader in supplying interior systems for cars and light trucks, including seating, instrument panels and electronics, providing systems to more than 30 million vehicles each year. Its customers include virtually all the leading global car makers.
The company has paid a dividend every year since 1887, while 2007 was its 61st consecutive year of sales increases and the 17th consecutive year of profit increases.
Its latest financial report is for the third quarter to June 2008. Sales and profits both rose 11 per cent, and the company said it had a large and growing order backlog that suggested the long-term outlook was positive, despite a slowing US economy.
The best result came from its high-margin Power Solutions (batteries) division, with sales up 36 per cent and profits ahead 22 per cent, with higher volumes in Europe and Asia boosting profitability.
Auto interior system sales only edged up, with strong growth in Europe and - especially - China only just offsetting a North American decline.
Building efficiency sales were strong globally, with a double-digit gain in revenues and profits.
The company said that it is positioned to benefit from several mega-trends - energy efficiency, sustainability, hybrid vehicles and emerging markets. And it noted that it now enjoys solid annuity-like businesses.
August 2nd, 2008