Generating growth via acquisitions can be risky, but in Bunzl's (BNZL) case it has worked a treat. In the past 10 years, Bunzl, who supplies products ranging from food packaging to disposable tableware, has spent £1.7bn on more than 80 acquisitions. Over that same period, the compound annual growth rate in the dividend has been more than 10 per cent per annum and total shareholder return has been double that of the FTSE 100.
IC TIP:
Hold
at
1,552p
Last year was another solid performance, with adjusted diluted earnings per share up 16 per cent to 81.4p, which was 4 per cent ahead of consensus. Chief executive Michael Roney sees no reason to change what has been a successful formula. "There is still a lot more to roll out. Expect more of the same," he says.