Emmi (SWX:EMMN)

Emmi is the leading dairy group in Switzerland and the leader in the Swiss cheese industry at national and international level. The company's three strategic pillars are the defense of its strong position in Switzerland, targeted growth abroad and resolute, long-term cost management. This strategy should enable Emmi to achieve a net profit margin of between 2.5% and 3.5% over the coming years and to maintain a structure consisting of at least 40% of equity. In the medium and long term, Emmi is targeting sales of CHF 4 billion through organic growth and acquisitions in key foreign markets.

As the largest Swiss dairy product manufacturer, the company has a strong foothold in the Swiss market. By implementing a strict cost management and relevant efficiency-increasing measures, Emmi is investing in Euro-compatible production structures in order to cope with the continued opening up of markets. The strengthening of brand platforms combined with targeted innovations and efficient operating processes should enable Emmi to remain competitive from Switzerland and to consolidate the Swiss production location in the long term.

Germany, Italy, Austria, Great Britain, the Benelux countries and the USA are Emmi's key markets abroad, where it wants to further expand its activities. Emmi also seizes opportunities in other markets and works closely with strategic partners such as the Spanish company Kaiku Corporación Alimentaria SL for the Spanish and South American markets or the cheese specialist Ambrosi SpA in France.

Emmi's core business is located in Switzerland, with 72.7% of its turnover in 2010. This amounted to CHF 2,684 million (net turnover), an increase of 2.5%, exceeding expectations despite the difficult situation on the foreign exchange market.

Emmi affiche une faible sensibilité aux variations du marché, avec un beta de 0.38 seulement. Le dividend yield est correct, sans être extraordinaire, à 1.74%, mais avec un distribution ratio de 21.12 seulement. Le ratio de liquidité générale (current ratio) est serein, à 1.93. La marge bénéficiare nette est de 3.89% sur les douze derniers mois (2.84% sur la moyenne des cinq dernières années). Le bénéfice par action a progressé sur un rythme annuel moyen de 9.39% ces cinq dernières années. Le cours sur actif net (price to book ratio) se monte à 1.24, tandis que le ratio cours/bénéfices s'élève à 12.11. Le rendement des capitaux propres (ROE) se monte à 10.51% (8.70% sur la moyenne des cinq dernières années). Le ratio de la dette totale par rapport au capital est tout à fait raisonnable, à 0.25.

Emmi se comporte bien depuis plusieurs années par rapport au marché, avec une meilleure performance pour moins de volatility.

We acquired Emmi as part of our strategy Swiss Value Dividend Stocks on August 11, taking advantage of the market decline. Emmi is a defensive stock, not very sensitive to the economic situation and relatively little exposed to currency risk. It brings better diversification to our portfolio.