06/17/96 HOW SWISHER IS MOPPING UP

HOW SWISHER IS MOPPING UP

It's as far from high tech as you can get, but Swisher International (SWSH) is starting to sparkle anyway. As No.1 in restroom-cleaning franchises, ``it's the best in the business,'' says analyst Herbert Davidson of securities firm Meyers Pollock Robbins. Swisher's clients include Shell, Eckerd, Burger King, and Kmart.
The company has been approached on two occasions by different companies seeking to acquire it. But CEO Patrick Swisher pooh-poohed the offers as too low. ``It would have been a heck of a bargain [for them] if we had accepted, considering the strong growth we're seeing,'' he says.
It's Swisher's improving outlook that drew suitors, agrees Davidson. Earnings in the first quarter of 1996 jumped 67% and revenues 33%, he notes. Davidson expects sales of nearly $10 million in the year ending Oct. 31, 1996, and profits of 32 cents a share, up from last year's $7.9 million and 20 cents.
Davidson says Swisher aims to be a worldwide commercial-cleaning chain. It provides services and hygiene products to restaurant, store, office, and school lavatories in 39 states and Canada.
The stock hasn't been a laggard, either. From 3 in January, the stock has risen to 4. Davidson thinks it could hit 8 in a year.
BY GENE G. MARCIAL