
Position opened: First purchase on September 20 2007, total average cost of $3.73 CAD
Position closed: Last sale on May 02 2014, total average proceeds of $6.08 CAD, plus $1.96 CAD dividends ($8.04 CAD)
Hold period: 6.62 years
Rates of return: 116% (simple) and 12.31% (annualized)
Unilens was another one of those small, overlooked companies that is literally right under your nose – or slightly above it, depending on how you look at things. As a “manufacturer of specialty optical products”, the beauty of Unlilens was the royalty that was paid to them by Bausch & Lomb, the (very large) maker of contact lenses. Every year, Bausch & Lomb would sell an enormous amount of contact lenses, and every year they would cut a fat cheque to Unilens, who in turn would pay out dividends to shareholders. As with many “good things”, Unilens didn’t go unnoticed forever, and was eventually acquired by Valeant in 2015.
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