Today I am looking at four stocks poised to deliver strong bottom-line growth in the years ahead.
Reckitt Benckiser Group
I believe that Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RB) is an exceptional selection for those seeking dependable earnings growth. The company is an omnipresent in households the world over thanks to its operations across multiple consumer goods markets — from Nurofen pain suppressants and Dettol disinfectant through to French’s mustard, Reckitt Benckiser has its fingers in many pies.
And the firm knows exactly how to wring the most of these brands’ formidable pricing power through a steady stream of product innovations and roll-outs in new territories. And with Reckitt Benckiser planning to hike M&A activity in the lucrative Consumer Healthcare arena, I fully expect revenues to explode in the coming years. The City expects the business to enjoy earnings rises of 3% and 7% in 2015 and 2016 correspondingly, producing P/E ratios of 25.2 times and 23.6 times.
Banco Santander
Like Reckitt Benckiser, I expect banking goliath Santander’s (LSE: BNC) sprawling presence across the globe to deliver stunning returns in the years ahead. The company is already enjoying the fruits of economic improvements in its established markets of Europe, but it is in the emerging regions of Latin America where revenues promise to really take off.
Indeed, Santander currently sources a third of of group profit from the continental powerhouses of Brazil, Mexico and Chile alone, and I expect this ratio to continue climbing as rising affluence levels in these countries drives banking services demand higher. And despite current economic turbulence in this region, Santander is still expected to enjoy earnings expansion of 6% this year and 8% in 2016. Consequently the firm deals on mega-low P/E readings of 10.2 times and 9.4 times for these years.
Cineworld Group
I am convinced that cinema chain Cineworld’s (LSE: CINE) expansion drive should pay off handsomely in the long run. The business opened 17 new sites across the UK, Central and Eastern Europe and Israel during January-June, and has a further 51 development projects due to be unveiled in the next three years.
A ‘trip to the flicks’ is one of life’s guilty pleasures regardless of the wider economic climate, making Cineworld a terrific bet for reliable earnings growth. And the steady stream of blockbusters slated for the next few years, from Star Wars and Avatar to James Bond and Marvel, should keep customers flocking through the doors. Earnings are anticipated to advance 14% in 2015 and 10% next year, pushing a P/E ratio of 20.8 times for the current period to 18.9 times in 2016.
Vodafone Group
I fully expect earnings to take off at Vodafone (LSE: VOD) thanks to the massive organic investment and shrewd acquisition activity of recent years,. A steady improvement in its critical European markets, not to mention stomping consumer spending power in developing markets like India and Turkey, are helping to power 3G and 4G data demand like never before.
And thanks to its multi-billion-dollar Project Spring expenditure programme, not to mention asset purchases in the white-hot ‘quad play’ entertainment segment, Vodafone is positioning itself to beat its rivals by offering superior speeds and coverage. Against this backcloth the telecoms play is anticipated to punch a much-improved 6% earnings slide in the 12 months to March 2016 before enjoying a 20% advance in 2017.
While these figures still leave Vodafone dealing on elevated P/E multiples of 44.3 times for 2016 and 34.7 times for the following period, I believe the firm’s compelling growth drivers — not to mention vast dividend yields of around 5.5% through to end-2017 — more than offset these high numbers.