When I see BBC, I think of the British Broadcasting corporation. But that stock symbol belongs to BodisenBiotech
Bodisen is a Chinese pesticide and bio-fertilizer company. What has launched this stock more than 20% to a new 52-week high? $43 million in orders at two recent trade shows, for starters. Last year, the company booked $20 million in orders at these shows, and it has trailing annual revenue of $28 million. So to an extent, at this company's fledgling stage in its lifecycle, the trade shows produce good visibility of the company's year-ahead revenue potential.
Bodisen is a company in the right place at the right time. China, the exporter to the world, is a large importer of grains and food. The Chinese government has mandated that farmers increase crop yields to decrease the nation's dependence on foreign imports.
Bodisen's products are based on proprietary agricultural technology jointly developed by company scientists and university laboratories. Their fertilizers appeal to farmers because their use allows the crops to be labeled as organically grown and, in China as in the United States, that label generally means higher prices. The company expects its organic growth to continue as it gains market share at the expense of chemical fertilizer companies.
Revenue for the first nine months skyrocketed 100% year over year, and net income soared 64% to $0.41 a fully diluted share. The one analyst who follows the company expects it to earn $0.51 this year and $0.87 next year. That prices the stock at a reasonable 15 times 2006 earnings.
As Motley Fool readers know, a number of Chinese growth companies are not priced at outrageous levels. Motley Fool Rule Breaker picks ShandaInteractive
Forbes China ranked Bodisen as one of the Top 100 growth companies in China earlier in 2005, and that just might continue to be the case. While any investor in China needs to be concerned about governmental mandates, Biodisen appears to have the wind to its back. But at 5.9 times trailing sales, the company needs to maintain its margins and growth to continue its smooth sailing on Wall Street. Investors also need to be aware that the Chinese government might not extend the company's current tax exemption, which expires in 2007. It also bears mentioning that the company currently occupies only 0.5% of the Chinese fertilizer market and competes against a host of others-- which represents potentially weighty barriers to continued and profitable expansion.
To the extent that Chinese producers and customers find value in organic goods, and the absence of meaningful competition in China, this might continue to be a worthwhile growth story. But further expansion will likely depend upon continued and significant wealth creation in China. In the wealthy U.S., organic goods are a sort of luxury item, and it's logical that they'd be even more so in China.
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Fool contributor W.D. Crotty does not own any shares in the companies mentioned. Click here to see the Motley Fool's disclosure policy.
