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To: goldsnow who wrote (12652)	6/5/1998 8:43:00 PM
From: Wizzer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116795

Looks like this is one sector that will be roaring in the new millenium: BOOZE! Champagne stocks seen fizzing as millennium looms Friday June 5, 2:52 pm Eastern Time By Elizabeth Fullerton LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Eighteen months before possibly the world's biggest party ever, financial analysts have already started thinking about stocks that are likely to benefit from millennium celebrations. With end-of-the-century revellers likely to be guzzling champagne by the crateful, Lehman Brothers on Friday advised investors to buy shares in French luxury goods group LVMH (LVMH.PA), owner of prestigious brands such as Moet et Chandon, Dom Perignon and Veuve Cliquot. Lehman estimates the group's champagne profits in the year 2000 will be double those of three years earlier, helped by a surge in vintage sales and the fact the grape price is fixed until 1999. And Lehman expects the party to go on far beyond the small hours of January 1. ''We believe that further volume growth in 2000 as the 1995 vintage comes on stream and new millennium parties continue will cause profits to more than double from their 1997 level - or an increase of two billion francs,'' said Lehman analyst John Wakeley. Dermot Carr, analyst at Nikko Europe, also has high hopes for LVMH, which he compared to a vintage wine. ''LVMH ought to be laid down and left to mature,'' he said in a recent research note. ''The group's continuous investment in its unique portfolio of international luxury brands should ensure that the shares benefit from the millennium and sparkle in the long-term,'' he said. Yet if LVMH is a good millennium stock, what about the rest of the drink sector? ''Well, everyone's going to get drunk aren't they?'' said one analyst who preferred not to be named. Carr said drinks companies such as Remy Cointreau (RCOP.PA), Allied Domeq (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ALLD.L), Seagram(VO.TO - news) and Diageo (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: DGE.L) should see their sales, especially in premium goods, get an extra kick in the run-up to the historic date. ''Many drinks companies are in the doldrums at the moment, so the millennium will be a lifebelt for them,'' said Wakeley at Lehman. Remy is a big producer of luxury cognac such as Hennessy and also owns champagne names Piper Heidesieck and Krug, as well as some scotch whisky brands. Allied has Courvoisier cognac and a small stake in the champagne Lanson and Diageo owns the popular Johnny Walker label. ''People will be looking to buy things on the expensive side of affordable,'' said Carr. Hotels, nightclubs and brewers are also likely to get a piece of the millennium pie, although nothing like the bonanza that champagne sales are set to see. ''I would look at Luminar(quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: LMR.L), Rank(quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: RNK.L), First Leisure(quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: FSL.L), Northern Leisure(quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: NLS.L) - that type of nightclub operator might be very interesting,'' said one analyst who declined to be named. Analysts see more potential for hotels than brewers, which they say could have difficulty coping with the sheer volumes of alcohol party-goers are likely to demand. ''You would expect a bit of a boost but the problem for a number of brewers is that they don't have the capacity to make a huge uptick in their underlying profitability,'' said one analyst at Merrill Lynch. ''It will be a one-off benefit that won't really affect the valuations of companies and then you're back with God knows what sort of hangover,'' he added.