"Many of the industries that we think of as 'mature' in the U.S. are still in their infancy in Russia," notes global expert John Christy.
In his Forbes International Investment Report, he notes, "Advertising is a perfect example. Overall, the Russian ad market is growing at a 25%-30% clip." Here, he looks at CTC Media (NASDAQ: CTCM), one of the leading TV broadcasters in Russia.
"In 2007, total advertising spending in Russia was approximately $9 billion versus just $1.1 billion back in 2000. To put things in perspective, consider that in the U.K., Europe's largest ad market, spending is roughly $22 billion.
"With more than twice the population of the U.K., Russia's advertising market is less than half its size. Of course, it will take a very long time for Russia's economy to become as developed as Britain's but there is clearly a lot of room for growth.
"Television companies will be a prime beneficiary of this trend. TV accounts for about half of all advertising spending in Russia, or about $4.4 billion. And television advertising has been growing at 40% annually, an even faster pace than that of ad spending overall.
"One of the easiest ways for investors to tap into this growth is through CTC Media. The Moscow-based company is Russia's fourth-biggest broadcaster, with an 11.3% audience share.
"CTC focuses almost exclusively on entertainment programming, including cartoons, dramas, and foreign movies. It also produces its own original Russian-language programming. Earlier this month, CTC inked a multi-year deal with Disney to license its programming in Russia.
"Revenue for 2007 was $472 million, a 27% increase over the previous year. For 2008, management guidance calls for a range of $600-$650 million, implying growth of at least the same as last year or better.
CTC's balance sheet is remarkably strong, with virtually no long-term debt and $300 million cash.
"As always, corporate governance and transparency is a major concern when investing in Russia.With CTC, this is mitigated to some degree by very stable Western ownership. Sweden's Modern Times Group owns a 40% stake in the company.
"Furthermore, with its primary listing on Nasdaq, CTC is subject to full disclosure under U.S. securities laws and files its financial reports in accordance with GAAP. That doesn't eliminate the risk, of course, but I do think it gives us a measure of comfort that isn't always there in other situations in emerging markets.
"At a recent $28, CTC sells for about 18 times 2009 estimated earnings. That's not cheap in an absolute sense, but for a rapidly growing company with as much upside as CTC, its an attractive long-term opportunity."
Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
