At the end of last week the Australian dollar fell beneath 70 U.S. cents for the first time in over three months, and while last time a bullish rally took it back up to 73 U.S cents soon after, this time it looks to be a different story.
Many of Australia's leading economists are predicting that this time the Australian dollar is going to continue to weaken and head all the way down to 65 U.S. cents in the near term. So what better time is there to have a look at which shares would benefit from such a move and be good additions to your portfolio?
Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB), the supply-chain logistics company, derives 49% of its revenue from the United States, making the company's shares a great candidate for a falling Australian dollar themed investment. Not only does the weaker currency give it a competitive advantage over its U.S. industry counterparts, but the conversion of U.S. dollars to Australian dollars will be a great boost to its already impressive net profit.
Brambles is already expected (according to analysts' forecasts) to grow earnings by 11% per annum over the next two years, so this extra boost could provide shareholders good returns on top of the 2.9% dividend yield being paid out.
The shares dropped 7% from their high during last week's market volatility, giving investors an opportunity to get in on the action at a reasonable price to earnings ratio of 20x earnings, versus the industry average of 23x earnings.
Westfield Corp Ltd (ASX: WFD) is another company that stands to benefit from a weaker Australian dollar. Being the international side of Westfield shopping centres, it has a massive 86% of its revenue coming from the United States, with the remainder coming from the UK and Europe.
The company reported occupancy levels of 95% in its half-year results and with the United States's consumer spending near record levels, this could bring about even greater occupancy levels in the future which should in turn increase revenues.
Much like Brambles, Westfield was also affected by the market turmoil last week bringing the shares down around 4%. Although not necessarily cheap, the future growth prospects as well as the currency advantage make it an interesting option.
Foolish takeaway
The weakening of the Aussie dollar versus its U.S counterpart makes Australian companies that earn U.S. dollars extremely attractive investment prospects. As both Brambles and Westfield earn a significant amount of their revenue in U.S. dollars, considering them both as part of a well-balanced portfolio could be a wise decision.
