The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has been a very strong performer for investors over the last ten years.
For investors that don't know, CSL is the biggest ASX healthcare share. CSL describes itself as one of the largest and fastest-growing protein-based biotechnology businesses and a leading provider of in-licensed vaccines.
CSL Plasma operates one of the world's largest plasma collection networks, with over 300 collection centres worldwide.
It also recently acquired the Vifor business, which is now called CSL Vifor. This business is focused on iron deficiency and nephrology.
At the time of writing it has a market capitalisation of $145 billion. But, it wasn't always the giant that it is now.
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Strong growth
A decade ago the CSL share price closed at $54.77. That means the cost to buy 100 CSL shares would have been $5,477.
CSL has gone through a lot since then.
It was almost a decade ago that the current CSL CEO and managing director Paul Perreault was appointed as the CEO and managing director. He stepped up from the role of President of the CSL Behring division.
CSL announced the influenza vaccine business of Novartis for just US$275 million in October 2014, creating the vaccine division called Seqirus. The name comes from the term "securing health for all of us".
It has made a number of other acquisitions including Vifor most recently.
The company also transitioned to an 'own distributor' model in China.
Throughout this time, the business has grown strongly organically and invested billions of dollars in research and development. In FY22 it spent $1.16 billion on R&D. This helps the business create new life-changing healthcare products and unlock new earnings streams.
In FY12, the business made A$983 million of net profit after tax (NPAT). In FY22 it generated US$2.375 billion of NPAT, or A$3.54 billion at the current exchange rate to compare apples to apples for that growth over a decade.
Growth of the CSL share price
The CSL share price is now valued at $300.79. That means that it has gone up 449%.
For an initial cost of $5,477, those same 100 shares would now be worth $30,079. That's a big gain and doesn't account for the dividends that it has paid either.
The FY22 full-year dividend was US$2.22 per share, which is approximately AU$3.33 per share at the current exchange rate, though it was A$3.11 at the time of announcement. That means the dividend yield on cost for those 100 shares equates to a dividend yield of 6%.
Can it keep rising?
Share prices tend to follow profits over time, so if CSL can keep growing then it can keep generating shareholder returns.
The broker Macquarie has a price target of $343, which implies a possible rise of 14% over the next 12 months.
Citi has a price target of $340 on the ASX healthcare share, which implies a possible rise of 13%.
