Can these consumer Ds turn into As?

TURNAROUND plays are tough to figure out. Many frogs have been kissed but still remain frogs. Strong companies tend to stay strong. Weak ones tend to stay in the dumps.

This general statement might also apply to the consumer staples space. We all want to own, for cheap, a Nestle or Unilever-like franchise throwing off tonnes of free cash flow every year. Tough luck.

The search for value-for-money consumer brands will instead take us to the realm of less diversified companies with specific risks. One example is canned products maker and pineapple plantation owner, Del Monte Pacific, listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) as well as the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The Del Monte brand goes back a long way. Financial history buffs might be intrigued to learn that the business was part of RJR Nabisco, the US tobacco and food giant, which leveraged buyout firm KKR eventually bought in an infamous 1988 mega-deal. The rise and fall of RJR Nabisco has been chronicled magnificently in the b…