FMC化学产品组合美得冒泡

9/10

当你在不断增长的业务组合中添加新成分后能够得到什么？FMC Corp(代號:FMC) 能立刻为你找到答案。FMC制造并生产一系列的化学产品，包括农业、工业和消费市场，公司产品组合几乎涵盖了一切，从杀虫剂和生物高聚物到苏打水和过氧化氢。FMC的业绩表现美得冒泡，从04年到08年，公司每年的每股收益攀升了32%，销售额年增长率为8% 。目前，公司还在产品组合中加入的收购的成分。近期公司进行了自01年剥离原公司以来的首次收购交易，为其化学产品运营多元化再添浓墨重彩的一笔。

FMC收购了International Specialty Products的Alginates及其食品混合业务。Alginates是一种主要使用于食品加工过程的海藻提取物，食品混合也是在食品加工中必不可少的环节。公司于07年斥资8000万美元进行此项收购，将其合并至公司的特殊化学部门。公司执行层并未对此作出表态，但是分析师认为此项收购教交易极为关键，原因如下：其一，此项收购整合了最尖端的藻酸盐市场，FMC成为行业老大，而ISP是老二。“此项收购巩固了藻酸盐市场，并对特殊化学市场作出了巨大的贡献。”

特殊化学板块是公司最小的业务板块，约占25%，生物高聚物产品的销售额约占整个部门销售额的70%，此项业务是公司最大利润来源。公司正在考虑在未来三至五年内进行收购以便扩大此项业务的规模。公司还通过另一项收购交易扩大了藻酸盐业务的规模。今年七月，公司同意收购中国的Co Living Food Ingredients，后者是一家小型食品配料供货商，这为公司打开了一个新的市场，并为其在中国市场中赢得一席之地。

这两项收购交易大大提高了公司08、09年的每股收益预测，并将迎来更多的收购。分析师表示：“一旦两项交易完成，公司的收购活动将积极展开。”公司最大的销售额来自工业化学部门，主要包括苏打水等产品。公司在北美是苏打水和过氧化氢市场堪称霸主。农业产品部门主要生产病虫防治的相关产品，这是公司第二大业务板块，杀虫剂成为此版块销售额的最大促动产品。

二季度公司每股收益逃避上升了43%至1.29美元，销售额上涨了23%至8.066亿美元。二季度来自农业板块的销售额大涨了26%，主要受到欧洲、北美和亚洲市场的提振。工业板块销售额上涨了25%，主要受到苏打水和过氧化氢产品价格上涨的提振。Thomson Reuters分析师预期今年每股收益将上涨41%至4.35美元，09年上涨22%至5.29美元。销售额在未来五年内将上涨9%左右。

Investor's Business Daily
Diversified Maker Of Chemicals Blossoms As Agriculture Booms
Tuesday September 9, 6:07 pm ET
Marilyn Much What do you get when you add new ingredients to a growing business mix?

Officials at FMC Corp. (NYSE:FMC - News)will soon find out.

FMC makes a wide range of chemicals used in the agricultural, industrial and consumer markets.

Its product lineup includes everything from pesticides and biopolymers to soda ash and hydrogen peroxide.

FMC's performance has been smoking hot. From 2004 to 2008, earnings have climbed at a 32% average annual clip and sales at an 8% rate.

Now, after enjoying heady growth through strictly internal efforts, Philadelphia-based FMC is adding acquisitions to the mix.

It recently made its first buy since it spun off its equipment business in 2001 to create the diverse chemical operation it runs today.

First Acquisition

FMC acquired International Specialty Products' alginates and food-blends business for an undisclosed amount.

Alginate is a seaweed-derived product used in processed foods and elsewhere. Food blends are products added to processed foods.

The acquired business had $80 million in sales in 2007.

FMC will fold the acquired business into its specialty chemicals group's biopolymer unit, which supplies ingredients used in producing food, pharmaceuticals and other consumer and industrial products.

Executives weren't available for comment. But analyst Dmitry Silversteyn of Longbow Research says the deal was important for a couple of reasons.

For one, the buy combines the top players in the alginate market. FMC is No. 1 and ISP is No. 2.

"The deal consolidates the market and will make a meaningful contribution to the specialty chemicals group's top line and profitability," Silversteyn said.

Specialty chemicals is FMC's smallest segment, at about 25% of total sales. Sales of biopolymer products account for about 70% of the group's sales.

The biopolymer business has been highly profitable for FMC, Silversteyn says.

The company had been talking about using acquisitions to grow its biopolymer business for the past three or four years, but "this is the first sign we've seen they're following through," he said.

FMC is out to bulk up its biopolymer business with another acquisition. In July, FMC agreed to buy China's CoLiving Food Ingredients for an undisclosed price. CoLiving is a small food ingredients supplier that provides additives for dairy products.

The pending buy would take FMC into a new market, Silversteyn says. It also gives FMC a bigger presence in China, which it can use to build upon its other products, he adds.

FMC expects both the ISP buy and the pending deal to be marginally accretive to 2008 and 2009 earnings per share.

More deals may be forthcoming.

"Once they get their hands around these two deals, I expect them to remain in the M&A game and hopefully become more active," Silversteyn said.

FMC has been sizzling with its current lineup.

The company's biggest chunk of sales comes from commodities in its industrial chemicals group. The group's biggest sales generator is soda ash, which is used in making glass, detergents and chemicals. FMC is North America's No. 1 player in soda ash. It's also No. 1 in hydrogen peroxide.

The agricultural products group makes crop-protection and pest-control products. It's the company's second-biggest segment. Insecticides, which are used to protect crops such as cotton, soybeans and sugar cane, represent most of the segment's sales.

In the second quarter, FMC's earnings climbed 43% from a year ago to $1.29 a share. Sales jumped 23% to $806.6 million.

What's been fueling its growth? "The terrific agriculture market is certainly part of the story, and the agricultural chemicals business is one-third of their overall sales," said analyst Frank Mitsch of BB&T Capital Markets.

In the second quarter, sales from the agricultural products business surged 26%, driven by growth in all regions, particularly Europe, North America and Asia.

The industrial chemicals segment's sales jumped 25%. Growth was fueled by higher selling prices, particularly in soda ash and phosphates and higher volumes across the segment.

FMC has gained pricing power in soda ash amid strong demand and tight supply, Mitsch says.

Soda ash prices have nearly doubled since 2005, he adds, and are set to go even higher in 2009.

Price Increases

FMC has announced a price increase of $90 per ton in soda ash for 2009. Observers expect FMC to keep up the momentum. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters see earnings rising 41% to $4.35 a share this year, then 22% to $5.29 in 2009.

Silversteyn expects sales to grow at high-single-digit rates for the next five years.

FMC's crop-protection business should remain a growth driver.

"The agriculture market has a long cycle of 10 years plus, and we're in the middle of that," Silversteyn said.

Growth in FMC's lithium business could accelerate if hybrid vehicles start using lithium batteries.

The soda ash business should stay strong.

FMC should benefit from higher soda ash prices, driven by a tight supply-demand balance and the rising cost of synthetic soda ash production, Gabelli & Co. analyst Rob Felice wrote in a report.