Go!
Investors are avoiding the battered auto industry like the plague these days, what with the bailouts, complicated cost structures, and imminent bankruptcies rippling through the industry. But not all car makers are under water. Which of these manufacturers has posted 25% annual revenue increases from 2003 to 2007 and even sports a dividend that has risen significantly since it first began in 2006?

A.)  Daimler AG (DAI)
B.)  Tata Motors (TTM)
C.)  Honda Motor Co. (HMC)
D.)  Zap (ZAAP.OB)
E.)  Chicago Rivet & Machine Co. (CVR)

Published: April 22, 2009

The correct answer is      (B.) Tata Motors (TTM)

Tata Motors is India's largest car maker and #5 worldwide, with more than US$7 billion in 2008 revenue. Bolstered by its dominant share of the Indian car, truck, and bus market, Tata enjoyed rapid growth as India has boomed over the past decade: Its revenue rose about 25% annualized from 2003 to 2007.

Compared with other auto makers, Tata benefits from low manufacturing costs, especially low labor expenses. Some of that advantage has been reduced by rising raw-material prices for Indian manufacturers, but this is no General Motors, whose cost structure makes it difficult to maintain profit margins even in good years.
Tata is regarded as an entrepreneurial company that has introduced not only many conventional cars and trucks but has invested in several experimental cars that could boost its sales: including the Tata Nano, the most-affordable car in the world at around US$2,000, and several eco-friendly cars (including one run on compressed air).

In June 2008, Tata paid US$2.3 billion to acquire two storied car brands -- Jaguar and Land Rover -- from Ford Motor. By diversifying its revenue stream both geographically and by price point, the deal makes Tata less vulnerable to hiccups in India's economic development. (Tata also is expanding in Turkey, South Africa, and other countries.)

Tata Motors began paying a dividend in 2006, and has increased it significantly since that first $0.23 dividend. Though some analysts don't expect the 2009 dividend to increase much, if at all, due to the recession and its effect on Tata's sales and profits, at the current rate of US$0.353/share, the stock yields 5.8%.

India has only eight cars for every thousand people -- an extremely low penetration rate. But India's economy is expected to grow +4-5% in 2009 -- a veritable boom by the standards of a developed economy, though a slowdown from India's recent pace. Between 2004 and 2008, Indian car sales rose from 1.3 million to 2.3 million a year. Despite the recessionary slowdown in demand, over the long term Tata has huge room for expansion, making it one of the best-positioned auto makers in the world.

Tata is just one of the stocks StreetAuthority editor Nick Lanyi highlights in his latest issue of the High-Yield International newsletter. His in-depth analysis of opportunities in India, Asia, and Eastern Europe, as well as his top high-yield picks in those regions, provide investors with a solid foundation for relatively stable high-income investments -- just the thing many investors need in this volatile, cash-strapped environment. To learn the names of Nick's latest picks, and to learn more about High-Yield International, please visit this link.

Want to answer more trivia questions? Visit our archives here!


 

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