CHICAGO, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces
the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the
Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events
impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently
featured in the blog include: Diageo Plc. (NYSE: DEO),
Fortune Brands Inc. (NYSE: FO), Anheuser-Busch InBev
(NYSE: BUD), Molson Coors Brewing Company's (NYSE: TAP) and
Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB).
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Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:
Diageo Recycles Byproduct for Energy
Global spirit giant Diageo Plc. (NYSE: DEO) has decided
to invest $9.6 million for building a
bioenergy plant that will recycle draff and reuse it for generating
energy. The multinational has decided to set up the plant near
Elgin, Scotland in Glenlossie distillery complex at
Speyside.
Draff is a byproduct of the grain that is used for making
whisky. After distilling 12 million liters of whiskey the bioenergy
plant will have almost 30,000 tones of draff at its disposal. This
large amount of draff will be supplied by 17 malt whisky
distilleries – situated around the biomass plant in Speyside.
Energy produced will help power operations on site, including
Glenlossie and Mannochmore distilleries and the onsite dark grains
plant, which makes animal feed. The bioenergy plant will make an
important contribution to Diageo's global environmental targets by
reducing annual carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 6,000
tones.
Diageo is set to expand its business in Speyside, Scotland. Recently Diageo was part of an
industry consortium that constructed a biomass combined heat and
power plant, which was hailed as a major breakthrough for
Scotland's renowned alcohol
industry.
The spirit maker is also investing for increasing capacity at
the Glen Ord distillery near Inverness and at its Caol Ila distillery in Islay. It also announced
a huge investment for expanding its malt whisky distillation
capacity in Speyside over the next two-to-three years. The
expansion in distillation will allow Diageo's Speyside distilleries
to produce an extra 10 million liters of alcohol per
year.
Diageo Plc.'s fiscal 2011 net income from continuing operations
grew 16.1% to £2.02 billion ($3.3
billion) from £1.74 billion in the year-ago period. Earnings
per share came in at 76 pence
($1.24 per ADR), compared to £0.65
per share in the year-ago quarter.
The recent economic downturn has left Diageo shaken. Besides,
the stiff competition from Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands
Inc. (NYSE: FO) in the spirits business and Anheuser-Busch
InBev (NYSE: BUD) and Molson Coors Brewing Company's
(NYSE: TAP) beer business undermines Diageo's value in the eyes of
the investors.
Diageo holds a Zacks #2 Rank, which translates into a short-term
Buy rating.
Biogen to Fully Acquire Dompe JV
Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB) recently announced its
intention to acquire 100% of Dompé's shares in its joint ventures
(JVs) in Italy and Switzerland. Biogen and Dompé had entered into
a joint venture in 1997. While the joint venture was initially
focused on the commercialization of Avonex, the collaboration was
later expanded to include commercial, distribution and service
rights for Tysabri.
Once Biogen gains full control of the joint ventures, it will
have a direct commercial presence in 29 countries. The company said
that the new affiliate offices will be named Biogen Idec Italia and
Biogen Idec Switzerland. Financial terms of the agreement were not
disclosed.
This move will allow both Biogen and Dompé to focus on their
core business areas. Over the past few months, Biogen has been
working on streamlining its operations.
In November 2010, the company had
announced its intention to streamline its operations and increase
efficiencies through the implementation of a restructuring program.
The company's restructuring program includes initiatives like
streamlining of operations, shutting down of facilities, and
workforce reduction.
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