TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (20,002.27, down 63.65 points.)
BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB). Technology. Down 80 cents, or 4.19 per cent, to $18.30 on 11.7 million shares.
Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (TSX:XLY). Health care. Down five cents, or 14.71 per cent, to 29 cents on 10.7 million shares.
Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ). Energy. Down 82 cents, or 1.8 per cent, to $44.83 on 7.7 million shares.
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down 30 cents, or 0.98 per cent, to $30.32 on 7.2 million shares.
Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO). Energy. Up 24 cents, or 0.59 per cent, to $41.25 on 6.8 million shares.
Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Up nine cents, or 0.76 per cent, to $12.01 on 6.5 million shares.
Companies in the news:
TC Energy Corp. (TSX:TRP). Up 26 cents to $64.47. TC Energy Corp. says it is walking away from the Keystone XL pipeline project and ending a decade-plus battle that pitted the energy industry against environmentalists as oilsands producers sought to export Canadian crude. Construction on the pipeline was suspended earlier this year after newly elected U.S. President Joe Biden fulfilled a campaign promise to cancel its presidential permit in January. TC Energy last month took a $2.2-billion writedown on the cancelled project, which pushed the company to a loss in its most recent quarterly earnings. The Alberta government in March 2020 agreed to take a $1.5-billion equity stake in Keystone and provide a $6-billion loan guarantee to ensure work started immediately. The government said Wednesday its final costs are expected to be $1.3 billion. Some 200 kilometres of pipeline have already been laid, including across the Canada-U.S. border. The Keystone XL project was first approved by the National Energy Board in 2007.
Transcontinental Inc. (TSX:TCL.A). Up $1.78 or 7.9 per cent to $24.19. Transcontinental Inc. says its net income attributable to shareholders surged to $35.6 million in the second quarter as its printing sector marked the first organic growth since the beginning of the pandemic. The Montreal-based packaging and printing company says it earned $35.6 million, up nearly 39 per cent from $25.7 million a year earlier. It included $7.5 million from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, down from $8.2 million in the second quarter of 2020. That translated into earnings of 41 cents per share, up from 30 cents per share in the second quarter of 2020. Excluding one-time items, adjusted profits rose almost 10 per cent to $47.8 million or 55 cents per share, from $43.6 million or 50 cents per share in the prior year. Revenues for the three months ended April 25 were $623.3 million, down from $625.1 million. Transcontinental was expected to post 45 cents per share in adjusted profits on $626.2 million in revenues, according to financial data firm Refinitiv. In addition to positive organic growth, the printing sector had a 36 per cent increase in adjusted operating earnings. CEO François Olivier said the company is encouraged by the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and expects an increase in printing volumes in the coming quarters. Its media sector delivered significantly higher revenues and profitability while its packaging sector experienced robust customer demand.
Indigo Books and Music. (TSX:IDG). Up one cent to $4. Ontario's reopening plan is being lambasted by some of the country's top retail and cinema executives, who argue the plan will further gut businesses after enduring one of the world's longest lockdowns. Indigo Books and Music CEO Heather Reisman said the company has been closed, except for a few days, since November. The first step of Ontario's reopening plan begins on Friday, which will allow all non-essential retail to reopen at 15 per cent capacity but keep retail stores in malls closed unless they have a street-facing entrance. While many of Indigo's stores will be allowed to open, some are located in malls and will remain shuttered. The price retailers have paid to remain closed during the pandemic has been devastating, she said. Meanwhile, movie theatres will not be able to open until Step 3 of Ontario's reopening plan, a situation Cineplex president Ellis Jacob called "insane." The reopening plan also leaves 5,000 workers in the lurch, he said. The Retail Council of Canada is calling on Ontario to allow all retail to open at the same time — including those within malls.
Dollarama Inc. (TSX:DOL). Down 93 cents or 1.7 per cent to $53.34. Dollarama Inc.'s sales climbed by double digits in its latest quarter despite some of its stores facing tougher new retail restrictions amid rising COVID-19 cases, the Montreal-based retailer said Wednesday. The discount chain's same-store sales grew at a torrid pace in the first nine weeks of the quarter before more stringent measures to combat the pandemic reined in shoppers and curbed sales. Still, overall sales increased 13 per cent, with the company reporting earnings of $113.6 million in its latest quarter, up from $86.1 million a year ago. The Ontario government's stay-at-home order issued in April banned the in-person sale of non-essential goods, limiting purchases in brick-and-mortar stores to groceries, cleaning supplies and other essentials. The province has announced the ban will be lifted Friday. The store, which sells a broad assortment of food, general merchandise and seasonal items, has 1,333 locations across Canada with about 40 per cent located in Ontario. Sales grew to $954.2 million, up from $844.8 million in the same quarter last year, the chain said. Its profit for the quarter totalled 37 cents per diluted share, up from a profit of 28 cents per diluted share a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2021.
The Canadian Press
