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Restaurant Brands Reports Sales Grew 14 Per Cent In The Second Quarter

The Canadian Press – Canadian Press – Thu Aug 4, 6:44AM CDT

TORONTO — Tim Hortons’ parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc. saw sales grow 14 per cent in the second quarter, although they were down compared to the same time in 2021.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says global system-wide sales were up nearly US$1 billion year-over-year to over US$10 billion, with digital sales growing by double-digits over the same period.

RBI CEO José Cil says the company was able to drive sales at Tim Hortons Canada above pre-pandemic levels for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.

RBI, which also includes Burger King, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Firehouse Subs, says its net income attributable to common shareholders totalled US$236 million or 76 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, down from US$259 million or 84 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.64 billion, up from US$1.44 billion in the same period last year.

On an adjusted basis, RBI says it earned 82 cents per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 77 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2022.

Keyera Corp. Announces 2022 Second Quarter Results, Raises 2022 Marketing Guidance

• Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“adjusted EBITDA” ¹) was $316 million, compared with $224 million for the second quarter of 2021. The year-over-year increase was largely driven by strong Marketing segment performance.
• The company realized cash flow from operating activities (“CFO”) of $199 million, compared with $112 million for the same period in 2021.
• Distributable cash flow¹ (“DCF”) was $209 million ($0.94 per share), compared with $148 million ($0.67 per share) for the second quarter of 2021.
• Net earnings were $173 million ($0.78 per share), compared to $79 million ($0.36 per share) for the same period in 2021.
• The company continues to preserve balance sheet strength, ending the quarter with a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio² of 2.3 times, which is below the company’s target range of 2.5 to 3.0 times.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/keyera-corp-announces-2022-second-quarter-results-raises-2022-marketing-guidance-813576174.html

Canadian Natural Reports $3.5B Profit In Second Quarter Amid Oil Price Spike

CALGARY — Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported a second-quarter profit that was more than double what it made in the same period last year.

The company said it earned $3.5 billion or $3 per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, up from $1.6 billion or $1.30 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Crude prices spiked during the quarter, driven largely by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with North American benchmark WTI up 15 per cent from the first quarter and up 64 per cent from last year’s second quarter.

Canadian Natural’s daily production, before royalties, averaged 1,211,147 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter, up from 1,141,739 in the same quarter last year.

Adjusted net earnings from operations amounted to $3.26 per diluted share, up from $2.56 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2022.

BCE Inc. Saw Profit Slip In The Second Quarter As Revenue Grew

The Canadian Press – Canadian Press – Thu Aug 4, 7:24AM CDT

MONTREAL — BCE Inc. is reporting profit slipped in the second quarter as revenue grew.

The company’s second quarter results released Thursday show its profit attributable to common shareholders totalled $596 million or 66 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, down from $685 million or 76 cents per share a year earlier.

Operating revenue totalled $5.86 billion, up from $5.70 billion in the same period last year.

On an adjusted basis, the telecom giant said it earned 87 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 83 cents per share a year earlier.

Wireless revenue rose to $2.24 billion compared with $2.13 billion a year ago, while wireline revenue dropped to $2.99 billion from $3 billion. Bell Media revenue totalled $821 million, up from $755 million in the same quarter last year.

BCE CEO Mirko Bibic says the company continues to see momentum in its wireless business, with 110,761 mobile phone net subscriber activations in the second quarter. Retail internet net activations were also up 27.9 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug.4, 2022.

At midday: Toronto stocks jump on Bombardier boost

Canada’s main stock index rose on Thursday, driven by a clutch of positive earnings reports from companies including business jet maker Bombardier and Tim Hortons-owner Restaurant Brands International.

In morning trade, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 32.07 points, or 0.16%, at 19,578.01.

Bombardier Inc jumped 11.6% after it reported a smaller quarterly loss, helped by steady demand and lower interest expenses.

The industrials sector rose 1.2%.

Restaurant Brands International climbed 6.6% as the company beat second-quarter sales and profit estimates, boosted by strong demand at its Burger King and Tim Hortons restaurants.

“The message so far has been that the sky’s not falling,” said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones Investments. “Even though the results are not great, they are good enough. They’ve been good enough so far with consumer demand generally proving to be fairly resilient.”

Sun Life Financial, Canada’s second-largest life insurer, gained 3.2% on a better-than-expected core profit for the second quarter and sale of its UK unit.

News and information company Thomson Reuters Corp advanced 2.4% after it reported a higher operating profit and raised its full-year revenue forecast.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.6% tracking a 0.9% rise in gold futures. The gains in bullion were driven by a pullback in U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar.

Capping the gains on the index, the energy sector dropped 1.9% as U.S. crude prices were down 1.1% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 1.3%.

On Wall Street, stocks edged lower in choppy trading as losses in Apple Inc and energy companies dampened the bullish resolve of the major indexes that had rallied in the previous session to its best in a week.

Apple weighed the most on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, shedding 0.4%, a day after surging 3.8%, while the energy sector fell 1.6%, tracking lower oil prices on fears of a slowdown in demand.

“It is really just a reflection of the strong gains that we had yesterday and so the market is digesting that,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management.

After a dull start to August, the markets had roared back to life on Wednesday on a boost from a slew of strong results from companies including PayPal Inc and CVS Health.

The benchmark index has gained nearly 13.8% from its mid-June lows, but is still in a bear market and down 13% for the year.

The second-quarter earnings season has helped markets bounce back from concerns around the fallout of the Ukraine war, soaring inflation, flare-up in China COVID-19 cases and an aggressive rise in borrowing costs.

While an unexpected rebound in July services activity allayed recessions fears, market participants are now keeping a close eye on data related to the labor market.

The July employment report, due on Friday, is expected to show nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 250,000 jobs in last month after rising by 372,000 in June. The data is crucial as the U.S. Federal Reserve attempts to cool labor demand to tame inflation.

“Investors are aware that we are in a soft landing for the economy… what will shake up the market is if we end up seeing substantial cuts in growth expectations, meaning if we end up with a lot of companies that are actually just getting rid of employees that could be a problem,” Sam Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA said.

A media report overnight said Walmart Inc was cutting hundreds of corporate roles in a restructuring effort.

At 10:20 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 97.65 points, or 0.30%, at 32,714.85, the S&P 500 was down 8.51 points, or 0.20%, at 4,146.66, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 8.23 points, or 0.06%, at 12,659.93.

Tesla Inc rose 0.7% ahead of an investor vote on a variety of matters including a three-for-one stock split that would make the company’s shares more accessible.

Health insurer Cigna Corp gained 3.7% after raising its annual profit forecast.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co slipped 2.9% as its cut annual profit view for the second time.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.02-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded one new 52-week highs and 29 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 28 new highs and 14 new lows.

• Initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 260,000 last week, in line with estimates.
• The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services decreased to $79.6 billion in June, slightly lower than the estimate for $80 billion.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/04/us-weekly-jobless-claims-.html

B.C.’s Sierra Wireless agrees to $1.2-billion takeover by Semtech at US$31 a share

California chip maker Semtech Corp. has agreed to buy Vancouver-area communications technology vendor Sierra Wireless, Inc. for US$31 a share, the two companies said late Tuesday.

The publicly traded firms had earlier that day confirmed a Monday morning Bloomberg report that a deal was in the works and at an advanced stage. After the close of markets, the two companies announced they had reached a definitive agreement in a deal valuing Sierra at US$1.2-billion. Semtech’s market capitalization is US$3.6-billion.

Sierra stock closed down 5.2 per cent at US$28.15 on Tuesday after jumping 19.4 per cent on Monday on the Nasdaq after the news report. In Canada, where markets were closed on Monday, the stock was up 13.6 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Sierra, founded in 1993 and based in Richmond, B.C., makes cellular hardware and software used to connect sensors on vehicles, computers and other devices to internet-of-things, or IoT, wireless networks. It booked US$448.6-million in revenue and lost US$49.3-million in its most recent fiscal year. But the company’s results have been steadily improving. It generated US$173-million of revenue in the first quarter, significantly higher than analysts’ expectations, which prompted several to increase their share price targets. Sierra said at the time it expected to generate between US$160-million and US$175-million in the second quarter.

But in a separate release late Tuesday, Sierra said it now expected revenue in the second quarter to exceed US$185-million and that it would have adjusted operating earnings of between US$21-million and US$23-million, up from US$15.8-million in the first quarter

Analysts expect Sierra to have its first profitable fiscal year since 2017 under the leadership of chief executive officer Phil Brace, a veteran technology executive who joined the company in July, 2021, after predecessor Kent Thexton retired. Mr. Brace, a Canadian based in California, previously held senior positions with Seagate Technology Holdings PLC and Veritas Technology LLC.

“Over the last year, Sierra Wireless has taken decisive steps to profitably grow the business, and I am proud that the progress we have made has culminated in this exciting transaction,” Mr. Brace said in a release. “Together with Semtech, we will be able to extend the reach of IoT solutions by scaling, optimizing and ultimately delivering an even stronger product portfolio and service model to customers.”

Semtech, based in Camarillo, Calif. – between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara – was founded in 1960 and generated US$740.9-million in net sales and a net profit of US$59.9-million in its most recent fiscal year. It is a leading global supplier of high-performance analog and mixed-signal chips and advanced algorithms for infrastructure, high-end consumer and industrial equipment.

A key focus of the transaction is the cloud services capabilities of the combined company, which would add US$100-million in high-margin recurring revenue to the buyer. Semtech also said it expects to generate US$40-million in cost synergies within 12 months after the deal closes.

“We believe the next era of technology growth is the full digitization of our industrial world – the internet of everything. Our vision is to build a simple, horizontal platform with the goal of accelerating this transformation and to bring about a smarter and more sustainable planet,” Semtech CEO Mohan Maheswaran said in a release. “This exciting strategic acquisition of Sierra Wireless is a critical part of bringing this vision to life.”

Oil falls 3%, pressured by surprise U.S. crude, gasoline build

Oil prices slid 3% on Wednesday, with losses accelerating after U.S. data showed crude and gasoline stockpiles unexpectedly surged last week after OPEC+ said it would raise its oil output target by just 100,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Brent crude futures were down $2.90, or 2.9%, at $97.61 a barrel by 12:17 p.m. ET (1617 GMT). West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $2.93, or 3.1%, to $91.49. Both contracts had seesawed previously.

The premium for front-month Brent futures over barrels loading in six months’ time <LCOc1-LCOc7> is at a three-month low, indicating waning concern about tight supply. The same premium for WTI futures <CLc1-CLc7> neared a four-month low.

U.S. crude oil inventories rose unexpectedly last week as exports fell and refiners lowered runs, while gasoline stocks also posted a surprise build as demand slowed, the Energy Information Administration nL1N2ZF1LG said.

Crude stocks rose 4.5 million barrels last week, compared with an analyst forecast for a draw of 600,000 barrels. Gasoline stocks gained 200,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 1.6 million-barrel drop.

“The crude oil number is well above expectations. Gasoline is a disappointment. You should never see a build in gasoline during summer. It’s a very bearish report,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.

Ministers for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed to the small increase to the group’s output target, equal to about 0.1% of global oil demand.

Algerian oil production in September will rise to 1.57 million bpd, Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab told state television.

While the United States has asked the group to boost output, spare capacity is limited and Saudi Arabia may be reluctant to beef up output at the expense of Russia, hit by sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

Ahead of the meeting, OPEC+ trimmed its forecast for the oil market surplus this year by 200,000 bpd to 800,000 bpd, three delegates told Reuters.

Also weighing on prices, top Iranian and U.S. officials said they were travelling to Vienna to resume indirect talks about Iran’s nuclear programme, reviving the all but vanished hopes of a removal of sanctions hampering Iranian oil exports.

Prices were also hurt when San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly warned of a 75 basis point interest rate hike if inflation continued. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin also said that the Federal Reserve was committed to getting inflation under control and returning it to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, also rose, pressuring demand by making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Posts Strong Second Quarter Results

The Canadian Press – Canadian Press – Wed Aug 3, 9:16AM CDT

TORONTO — Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP reported strong second quarter results as funds from operations (FFO) jumped 30 per cent compared with the same quarter last year.

Brookfield posted net income of US$176 million, or 13 cents per unit, for the three-month period ended June 30, compared to US$352 million, or 41 cents per unit, the prior year.

It says FFO for the second quarter was the highest in its partnership’s history totalling US$513 million.

Recent acquisitions, organic growth and gains on its foreign currency hedging program helped support the latest results, Brookfield says.

Brookfield says the transport segment continues to experience elevated demand as global supply chains remain constrained.

Meanwhile, its midstream segment generated US$170 million of FFO, nearly triple the prior year results.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug.3, 2022.