With the weakening of the Aussie dollar below $0.90 cents to the US dollar, and the US market recovery to spur on business in general, companies that are sensitive to the US dollar will have their earnings driven up as the Australian economy moves away from big mining.
In a recent interview, George Boubouras, chief investment officer of Equity Trustees, gave a list of companies he believes will thrive from exposure to an improving global industrial production cycle.
Crown Resorts (ASX: CWN)
Outside of its Australian casinos, Crown is involved in a joint venture business, Melco Crown, which owns and operates its Macau casino resort. It is currently developing a new casino in Manila and has plans for another in Sri Lanka, as well as plans to develop its "City of Dreams" integrated resorts across Asia.
Brambles (ASX: BXB)
The $14.3 billion supply chain logistics company operating the CHEP and IFCO brands, derives about 84% of its revenue from overseas business in Europe and the Americas. In 2013, NPAT after abnormals rose to $690.7 million from $565.5 million.
Amcor (ASX: AMC)
This global packaging company operates in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Both revenue and earnings have been steadily growing since 2008 and all through the GFC. So as the global industrial production cycle improves, it will benefit from increasing needs for soft and rigid packaging.
Computershare (ASX: CPU)
Known for its services in share registration and transfer agency, it operates in 20 countries. It provides cross-border advisory services and global solutions for international investment channels. 78% of its 2013 revenue came from overseas. In 2013, NPAT was about 10.4% above that of 2012.
Westfield Group (ASX: WDC)
The shopping centre giant has a significant number of retail shopping centres in the US and UK. Recently, Westfield Retail Trust (ASX: WRT) was created to concentrate on managing the Australian and New Zealand retail properties.
Resmed (ASX: RMD), CSL (ASX: CSL), Ansell (ASX: ANN)
These healthcare companies have a great majority of revenue from overseas operations, and are market leaders in their own right.
Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG)
The investment bank once known as the "millionaire factory" has many overseas arms in property investment and infrastructure. As well as exposure to Australian businesses operating internationally, which need institutional and capital services.
Foolish takeaway
Investors want exposure to overarching plays or themes, this should not absolve them from doing their homework on each company they may invest in. You can get the sector right, but if you pick the wrong stocks, it won't make any difference. You need to know how a company does its business, and understand what tailwinds and headwinds it can experience.
