Duracell Looks Abroad For More Juice

Most chief executives fret over their stock offerings, but C. Robert Kidder, the CEO of Duracell International Inc., was especially antsy when his company went public on May 2, 1991. And with good reason. A leveraged buyout led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. three years before saddled Duracell with $1.6 billion in debt. The interest payments -- $226 million in 1990 alone -- were eating up profits. A successful initial public offering was the quickest way the battery maker could get back into the black.

Nowadays, Kidder is resting easier. Last year's ipo, combined with a subsequent offering five months later, raised $563 million, enough money to reduce Duracell's debt load to roughly $1 billion. Even better, Duracell finally began making money. After three straight years of disappointing results, Duracell reported a net profit of $128 million in the fiscal year ended in June. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. analyst Deepak Raj expects profits to soar 37% this year, to $175 million, on sales of $1.8 billion, up 11%.