Author: Consultant

BCE Inc. BCE-T +2.75%increase posted flat revenue and fewer net new mobile customers in its third quarter, year-over-year, as it focused on expanding its artificial intelligence division.

The telecom and media company also raised doubts Thursday about a proposed $1-billion divestiture, first announced more than a year ago.

Still, the company could stand to gain from new measures introduced in the federal budget Tuesday, executives said.

BCE reported revenue of $6-billion in the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 1.3 per cent from the same period last year and in line with analyst consensus.

It added 68,000 net new mobile phone subscribers in the quarter,below last year’s results and analyst expectations of about 85,000.

Net new internet additions were 26,100, down from 42,000 last year, reflecting aggressive promotional offers by competitors offering cable, wholesale fibre, fixed wireless and satellite internet services.

“The market is growing, but it is growing at a slower rate across the board,” BCE chief executive officer Mirko Bibic said in an interview Thursday morning. However, he noted that the company’s fibre segments in Canada and the United States gained 65,000 new customers during the quarter.

Meanwhile, BCE’s legacy businesses continue to decline, losing 46,000 home phone subscribers and 16,100 video customers during the quarter. Advertising revenue was down 11.5 per cent.

While the sector continues to face headwinds, including lower immigration, a mature market and macroeconomic uncertainty, analysts broadly believe the Canadian telecom industry is moving beyond the trough – the lowest point in the economic cycle – in terms of mobile subscription pricing and stock valuations.

“The Canadian telco business unsurprisingly continued to exhibit weakish results, but we expect the recent price ups in wireless to begin to support results in 2026,” said Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi in a note to investors Thursday morning.

BCE is betting on its AI solutions business to feed that growth. Revenue from that division was up 34 per cent in the quarter, Mr. Bibic said in the interview, putting the company on track for approximately $700-million for the segment in 2025.

Selling BCE for the tax loss? Read this first

He said he was encouraged by measures in the federal budget, which provides some new funding for major AI projects and commits Ottawa to engaging industry to seek new projects.

“I think we’ll be able to capitalize on that, in general terms, because that’s a measure to increase adoption in a sovereign way,” he said in a call with analysts Thursday morning.

The budget also included tax changes that will allow companies to write down capital expenditures more quickly. Mr. Bibic said in the interview that those measures could affect BCE investment decisions, given that the company spends billions on such expenditures each year.

However, one major potential source of cash for the company is dragging.

On the call with analysts, Mr. Bibic said the proposed $1-billion sale of the company’s northern division, Northwestel Inc., would “more likely” close in 2026, as the buyers are still working with the federal government to secure funding.

“I think given the amount of time this has taken, it’s worth saying the following: We want to close the deal, for sure, but we’re also happy to operate Northwestel and to serve residents in the North. It’s a good, healthy, strong asset. And look, close or not close, it has a minimal impact on deleveraging,” Mr. Bibic said.

When BCE first announced the plan to sell Northwestel to an Indigenous coalition in 2024, it said it intended to use the proceeds to pay down debt. But Mr. Bibic said Thursday that BCE wasn’t trying to dispose of Northwestel for the purposes of deleveraging but rather for “altogether different reasons.”

The company had $35-billon in long-term debt as of Sept. 30.

Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. CTC-A-T +6.50%increase reported sales growth in its third quarter, even amid concerns about softening consumer spending, while expenses related to a major restructuring plan led to a decline in profits.

The Toronto-based retailer reported on Thursday that sales increased across its store banners. Sales growth was slowest at the flagship Canadian Tire chain, which saw stronger demand in Ontario and Quebec, offset by weaker sales in Alberta.

Consumer demand also shifted, with growth in discretionary purchases – such as seasonal and entertainment products – outpacing the growth of essential purchases for the first time since 2021. Shoppers have been more conservative about non-essential spending in recent years, as inflation and concerns about the health of the economy have led many households to cut back.

The company’s SportChek banner had the strongest growth in the quarter ended Sept. 27, which was boosted by back-to-school shopping and hockey equipment purchases. Mark’s stores benefited from demand for workwear, jeans and fall seasonal products.

Canadian Tire to launch limited Hudson’s Bay holiday collection next month

Comparable sales – which measures growth at stores open for more than a year, to monitor growth not driven by new store openings – increased by 1.8 per cent compared to the same period last year. Sales at the company’s retail stores grew by 3.2 per cent in total. Not including sales at the company’s gas stations, retail sales were up 5.9 per cent.

Canadian Tire reported that net income attributable to shareholders fell to $169.1-million or $3.13 in diluted earnings per share in the third quarter, compared to $198.5-million or $3.55 per share a year ago.

The dip in earnings was largely attributed to expenses related to the company’s True North strategy – a $2-billion plan to strip out inefficiencies in the business, reorganize the operations, expand the Triangle loyalty program, update stores, and improve digital performance. Not including that and other factors, normalized net income attributable to shareholders grew to $204.3-million or $3.78 in normalized diluted earnings per share.

As part of that strategy, Canadian Tire cut an unspecified number of corporate jobs during the quarter. On Thursday, the company reported that it expects to see its first quarter of cost savings from its restructuring in the fourth quarter.

The company announced a dividend increase to $7.20 per share on an annualized basis, up from $7.10.

Consolidated revenue grew by 3 per cent year-over-year to $4.1-billion.

• Private companies added 42,000 jobs in October, following a decline of 29,000 in September and topping the Dow Jones consensus estimate for a gain of 22,000.
• All of the job creation came from companies employing at least 250 workers. That category added 76,000 jobs, while smaller businesses lost 34,000.
• The ADP count comes out the first Wednesday of the month and usually takes a back seat to the official nonfarm payrolls report, which won’t be released because of the government shutdown.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/05/private-payrolls-rose-42000-in-october-more-than-expected-and-countering-labor-market-fears-adp-says.html

 Maple Leaf Foods Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $43.1 million, up from $17.7 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose eight per cent. The company says the profit amounted to 35 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from a profit of 14 cents per share a year earlier. Total company sales amounted to $1.36 billion, up from $1.26 billion in the same quarter last year. Maple Leaf says its prepared food sales rose 4.4 per cent, while poultry sales gained 15.7 per cent. The company’s pork business saw sales rise 10.4 per cent. On an adjusted basis, Maple Leaf says it earned 49 cents per share in its most recent quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 18 cents per share a year earlier. Maple Leaf completed a spin off of its pork business as Canada Packers Inc. last month.

CGI Inc. GIB-A-T +3.39%increase raised its quarterly dividend as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $381.4-million.

The technology and business consulting firm says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 17 cents per share, up from 15 cents per share.

The increased payment to shareholders came as CGI said it earned $1.72 per diluted share in the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $435.9 million or $1.91 per diluted share a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, CGI says earned $2.13 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.92 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $4.01-billion, up from $3.66-billion.

The company’s backlog stood at $31.45-billion as of Sept. 30.

Cameco CCO-T +0.21%increase raised its dividend and reported a small net loss in its most recent quarter.

The uranium miner says it will pay an annual dividend of 24 cents per share, up from 16 cents.

The increased payment to shareholders came as Cameco posted a net loss of $158,000 or zero cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $7.4-million or two cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue from products and services totalled $614.6-million, down from $720.6-million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Cameco says it earned seven cents per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of six cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. announced a partnership agreement with the U.S. government last month to help build nuclear reactors in the United States.

Air Canada AC-T -1.12%decrease narrowed its 2025 core profit forecast after reporting lower third-quarter profit on Tuesday, as the airline grapples with waning demand for travel to the U.S. amid trade tensions.

Canada’s largest carrier expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be between $2.95-billion and $3.05-billion, compared with its prior forecast of $2.9-billion to $3.1-billion.

Cross-border travel between Canada and the U.S. has slowed significantly this year after President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on Canadian imports sparked a widespread backlash, including cancellations of planned visits south of the border.

In the third quarter, the Canadian carrier also struggled with a major shutdown after nearly 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job in a high-profile strike demanding better wages and compensation for unpaid “ground work.”

Air Canada adds four U.S. routes from Toronto’s Billy Bishop

The four-day walkout, which defied a government back-to-work order, led to the cancellation of thousands of flights and grounded most of Air Canada’s fleet, severely disrupting operations and denting revenue.

Last month, the airline trimmed its financial expectations for the quarter and the full year to account for a hit from the strike.

Air Canada said it recorded a one-time pension past service cost and other labor-related charges of $173-million in the quarter, including ones related to the tentative agreement reached with Canadian Union of Public Employees.

The company reported an adjusted profit of $223 million, or 75 Canadian cents per share, for the quarter, compared with $969 million, or $2.57 per share, a year earlier.

Total operating revenue was $5.77-billion, compared with $6.11-billion in the year-ago period.

Integrated oil and gas firm Suncor Energy SU-T +5.01%increase beat third-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, as higher production and strong refining margins helped offset lower prices.

Demand and margins for refiners are recovering after last year’s slump, when profits eased from post-pandemic highs and supply disruptions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The company’s refining and marketing segment reported operating adjusted earnings of $894-million, up about 85 per cent from a year earlier.

Its refined product sales were up 5.6 per cent to its record high of 646,800 barrels per day from a year earlier, while refinery utilization was at 106 per cent, compared with 105 per cent last year.

The company also benefited from higher upstream production, which was at 870,000 bpd in the quarter, up 5 per cent from a year earlier.

Suncor Energy tops profit estimates with higher production, as Canada’s oil sands sector remains resilient

Canadian oil producers are gaining from the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, which opens access to global markets and lessens their dependence on the U.S. pipeline system.

The production helped offset lower oil prices, which were down about 14 per cent to $97.45 per barrel, after OPEC+ accelerated output hikes and raised concerns about oversupply.

The company also raised its current-year production forecast by about 3 per cent, its refinery throughput by about 7 per cent and its refined product sales by about 8 per cent, at the midpoint.

The company reported an adjusted profit of $1.48 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $1.08 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Ovintiv OVV-T +2.23%increase said on Tuesday it would buy the rest of NuVista Energy NVA-T +6.09%increase in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $3.8-billion, including debt, strengthening the shale producer’s presence in Canada’s Montney basin.

Last year, the North American company had acquired oil assets from Canadian firm Paramount Resources in the Montney shale for $3.22-billion in cash.

“This acquisition, combined with the inventory additions from our bolt-on acquisition work in the Permian is putting our investors into top tier resource at very attractive full-cycle returns,” said CEO Brendan McCracken.

The company also said it planned to launch a divestiture process for its Anadarko asset, which it expects to complete by the end of 2026. The proceeds are expected to reduce debt.

Ovintiv, which already owns 9.6 per cent of NuVista, said it would pay $18.00 per share and the total consideration will be made up of 50 per cent cash and 50 per cent Ovintiv common stock. The offer represents a 5.6 per cent premium to NuVista’s closing price on Tuesday.

The deal is expected to add 140,000 net acres and 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, located directly adjacent to Ovintiv’s current operations in the core of Canada’s key shale play.

The company has paused its share buyback program for two quarters to help fund a portion of the deal, expected to close by the end of 2026.

Ovintiv shares rose 1.2 per cent to $53.25 after the bell.