CFO

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By Abercrombie Consumer Private Company

14 Jan: Darren Gacicia – CFO of Eden Enterprises – The Stock Podcast, Ep.24

Eden Enterprises CFO Darren Gacicia joins The Stock Podcast to talk about his company and the cannabis industry. Eden Enterprises, also known by its retail brand, Garden of Eden, is a vertically integrated marijuana company based out of California. Tune in to hear Darren talk about one of the fastest growing industries in the US.

Eden Enterprises is one of the premier cannabis companies in California. One of the things that’s so interesting about this industry is the absence of interstate activity. Based on current rules and regulations, a cannabis company essentially cannot operate in more than one state. It’s a dynamic that will likely change over time, but the system in the US is strange like that – so, for potential new entrants, be sure to keep that in your dispensary business plan!

And Eden Enterprises is certainly keeping an eye on industry developments, which could put the company in a good position to capitalize on the changes to come. That’s why it’s such a treat to have Darren Gacicia on the podcast to talk about some of the things he and his company are keeping an eye on.

If you’re interested in learning more about a high growth industry, or you’re just interested in hearing from one of the most well-regarded cannabis companies in California, this episode won’t disappoint.

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By Abercrombie Industrials Public Company

14 Nov: Devina Rankin – CFO of Waste Management (WM) – The Stock Podcast, Ep.19

Devina Rankin is the CFO and SVP of Waste Management (WM), the largest waste services company in North America. In this episode of The Stock Podcast, Devina provides a brief history of the company and a great overview of the waste management business. Tune in if you’d like to learn about the waste management business, the recycling industry, and how landfills work.

I realize that Waste Management probably doesn’t need an introduction. Just about everyone out there has probably seen WM’s big green trucks driving around town. However, the waste management business is much more than just picking up trash. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scene that we don’t see. Running a waste management business is very complex, and that’s why it’s great to have Devina on the program to describe how they grew to become the leading waste services provider in North America.

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By Abercrombie Energy Infrastructure Public Company Renewables Utilities

09 Oct: Tom O’Flynn – CFO of AES Corporation (AES) – The Stock Podcast, Ep.17

Tom O’Flynn is the CFO of AES Corporation (AES). Tom provides a great overview of AES Corporation’s business model. He also discusses some really interesting catalysts for the company and highlights a compelling investment case for the shares of AES’ stock.

AES is a power company, but it’s different from regulated utilities, IPPs, and yieldcos, yet at the same time has similar characteristics. The asset portfolio includes traditional generation facilities, renewables, and a lot of the essential infrastructure required to produce and transmit electricity. Since the current management took the reins in 2011, they’ve pruned the portfolio, with more than $5B in asset sales over the past 7 years and exited 13 countries. During that time, management reduced parent level debt by $2B, cut costs by $300M, and they’ve returned almost $3B of cash to shareholders.

Part of the return to shareholders has been through dividends, and AES has also bought back about 16% of their stock since 2011. Another interesting fact is that the company has reduced coal generation capacity by about 20% over the past three years, and they’ve replaced a large portion of that capacity with renewable energy. De-risking the business has also been a key priority. Management has reduced AES’ FX exposure to around 15% from 40%.

Maybe one of the most interesting facts about AES Corp is that they are the largest owner of battery storage in the world, and the recently announced storage JV with Siemens called Fluence. The Fluence JV positions AES extremely well for the future. One of the reasons the battery JV is so interesting is because of the growth outlook. Generally speaking, growth investors aren’t interested in utilities. That’s because, double-digit earnings growth in utility-land is almost unheard of, at least not on multi-year outlook.

Another potentially big catalyst for AES Corp includes IMO 2020. This is a gross oversimplification, but IMO 2020 puts a cap on the amount of sulphur shipping vessels are allowed to use in fuel oil. This global regulation bodes well for global LNG demand. And with respect to debt, individual projects financed with non-recourse term debt, which means there is a natural deleveraging component to the business.

Something I like about this management team is that they’re focused on what they know, understand, and where they believe they have a competitive advantage. This perspective led to reducing the number of countries where they operate and becoming more acutely focused on developing and owning long-lived infrastructure assets.

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