Intertape Polymer spikes after dividend increase

Intertape's Lili products, an acronym for "Low environmental impact line from IPG", has helped improve its margins. — Intertape’s Lili products, an acronym for “Low environmental impact line from IPG”, has helped improve its margins.

Shares of Intertape Polymer (TSX:ITP) are up today after the company announced after the market close yesterday that its board had voted to increase its dividend by 50% from (US)$0.32 to (US) $0.48 per share.

The company also said it would commence a share buyback that could see it buy as many as two-million of its more than 61-million outstanding shares.

After a momentous rise that saw its shares move from just over a dollar in 2011 to more than $15 in September of last year, Qubec-based Intertape Polymer has cooled off in 2014. The company moved on the back of its improving margins. While its topline has barely budged, Intertape’s earnings have become predictable in their improvement. In its Q1, 2014, reported in May, the company’s adjusted EBITDA increased 11.1% to $26.7 million on the back of margins that were up almost a full point to 21.4%.

Intertape, which has been around since the early 1980′s, grew rapidly through acquisition in the 1990′s. The company now does nearly $800-million in annual revenues, selling specialty tapes, stretch wrap, shrink films and engineered coated fabrics. Prior to its 2011 rise, Intertape’s stock chart looked like a ski hill for much of the past decade, as it was posting hefty losses competing with giants like 3M in an inherently low-margin business.

At press time, shares of Intertape Polymer were up 9.65% to $13.41.

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