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William F. Kabourek, the crusty credit analyst (http://thecrustycreditanalyst.blogspot.com/), is a retired 62 year old. His business experience includes being president of two commercial banks, owner of 25 furniture rental stores, and partner in a private equity firm. William is retired for 12... More
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  • TIME TO TAKE A BITE OF SMART BALANCE 0 comments
    Oct 12, 2009 08:31 PM | about stocks: SMBL, CAG, KFT, HNZ
     
    I've owned SMBL on and off over the past several years. The story hasn't changed, but the share price is inching lower. An opportunity is at hand if you can wait five years. Regardless of the "markets" results, Smart Balance will reach $1 Billion, control a significant share of the dairy case, and sell out for a very nice price.
     
    The "story" is one of smart management that has built brands successfully before. Steve Hughes, SMBL CEO, has been the architect of tremendous brand growth at ConAgra, Dean Foods, and Celestial Seasonings. His team has years of experience and the goal of building SMBL into a billion dollar foods concern. They are currently at the $250MM level after several years of business.
     
    Smart Balance is a BRAND. It doesn't own manufacturing or research facilities. It is product, marketing, and people. It makes a little money and generates cash. Enough to paydown it's acquisition debt to $65MM. They should be debt free in a year or so. The lack of manufacturing is an advantage in our current tough times.
     
    At its current share price of $5.90 the stock can be gathered in at a price that is significantly lower than the IPO price, employee options, and the entry points of some of their largest private equity investors. While it isn't at its 2 years low point, it is well off its highs and hasn't participated in the market's run up.
     
    A reasonable plan is to buy some and tuck it away for 5 years. Forget about what the market price is and let Steve Hughes do his magic. Within that timeframe he'll sell the company and you'll end up with a boatload of ConAgra, Kraft, or Heinz shares. That's my bet anyhow.

    WILLIAM KABOUREK  owns shares of Smart Balance.
    Themes: FOOD COMPANIES Stocks: SMBL, CAG, KFT, HNZ
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