The 2015 All-Europe Research Team: Chemicals, No. 3: Thomas Gilbert & team

Zurich-based Thomas Gilbert, 43, leads his UBS trio to the third slot on this list for a second consecutive year.

< The 2015 All-Europe Research Team

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Thomas Gilbert & team
UBS
First-Place Appearances: 4

Total Appearances: 26

Team Debut: 1991

Zurich-based Thomas Gilbert, 43, leads his UBS trio to the third slot on this list for a second consecutive year. “Tom’s knowledge is encyclopedic, his scope vast,” proclaims one fan. The streamlined crew — they numbered five a year ago — continues to keep sites on 30 regional chemicals names. A long-standing favorite of this group is Swiss consumer-chemicals maker Givaudan, which the analysts boosted from neutral to buy in February 2013. Management had reengineered and simplified the manufacturer’s operations, leading to cost and supply-chain efficiency improvements and upside potential for earnings growth and gross margin expansion, they advised. By the end of last month, Givaudan’s shares had soared 62.3 percent, to Sf1,685, besting their peers by 50.1 percentage points. Over the trailing 12-month period, the stock advanced 29.8 percent, against the sector’s rise of 10.1 percent. Despite headwinds from the Swiss National Bank’s scrapping of the francs peg to the euro in January, Gilbert and his squad remain upbeat on Givaudan, citing the company’s global market share in the flavors and fragrances industry, as well as its strong earnings and high dividend yield.

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