Author: Consultant

Gildan Activewear Inc. raised its quarterly dividend 10 per cent as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of US$153.3 million, up from US$83.9 million a year earlier.

The clothing maker says it will pay a quarterly dividend of 20.5 cents US per share, up from 18.6 cents US per share.

Gildan, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its fourth-quarter profit amounted to 89 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 47 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

Net sales totalled US$782.7 million, up from US$720.0 million.

On an adjusted basis, Gildan says it earned 75 cents US per diluted share, up from an adjusted profit of 65 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

The results came as group of shareholders seeks to reinstate founder Glenn Chamandy as Gildan’s chief executive. Chamandy was terminated on Dec. 10 after four decades at the company and replaced by Vince Tyra.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2024.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. says it lost US$1.45 billion in the last quarter of 2023, and warned its ability to continue operating could be in doubt if it is unable to shore up its balance sheet in light of the shutdown of its Cobre Panamá mine.

The Toronto-headquartered mining company suspended production at the open-pit copper mine in Panama at the end of November after Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that a 20-year concession agreement covering the copper mine was unconstitutional. The mine had been the focus of ongoing blockades and widespread protest by environmentalists and nationalists.

The company has since estimated it will cost between US$15 million and US$20 million per month to safely maintain the site while it is shut down.

On Tuesday, First Quantum said the situation in Panama has impacted the company’s earnings potential to the point that its ability to continue could be threatened within the next 12 months.

But chief executive Tristan Pascall said the company is confident in a number of initiatives it has undertaken to bolster its finances and protect against this risk, including signing of a US$500-million copper prepay arrangement. The company is also aiming to sell off minor assets and shares in major ones, and is working with lenders to amend and extend its loan facilities.

First Quantum said its fourth-quarter total copper production was 160,200 tonnes, a 28-per-cent decrease from the third quarter of 2023. Most of this decrease was due to the situation at Cobre Panamá, which produced 62,616 tonnes of copper in the fourth quarter, a decrease of 50,118 tonnes from the third quarter of the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2024.

This earnings news release for Great-West Lifeco Inc. should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) and Consolidated Financial Statements for the periods ended December 31, 2023, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board unless otherwise noted. These reports are available on greatwestlifeco.com under Financial Reports. Additional information relating to Great-West Lifeco is available on sedarplus.com. Readers are referred to the cautionary notes regarding Forward-Looking Information and Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Ratios at the end of this release. All figures are expressed in millions of Canadian dollars, unless otherwise noted.

Read more at newswire.ca

Canada’s inflation rate fell to a surprising degree in January and returned to the Bank of Canada’s target range, highlighted by a moderation at the supermarket.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.9 per cent in January on an annual basis, down from 3.4 per cent in December, Statistics Canada said Tuesday in a report. Analysts were expecting a slight easing to 3.3 per cent.

• The so-called “Magnificent 7” U.S. tech behemoths encompass Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla.
• In a research note Tuesday, Deutsche Bank analysts highlighted that the Magnificent 7′s combined market cap alone would make it the second-largest country stock exchange in the world.
• However, this level of concentration has led some analysts to voice concerns over related risks in the U.S. and global stock markets.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/19/magnificent-7-profits-now-exceed-almost-every-country-in-the-world-should-we-be-worried.html

Monday February 19

China’s current account balance

Japan machine tool orders

U.S. and Canadian markets closed.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s industrial product and raw materials price indexes for January. Estimates are month-over-month increases of 0.5 per cent and 1.0 per cent, respectively.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian household and mortgage credit for December.

Tuesday February 20

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian CPI for January. The Street is expecting a rise of 0.4 per cent from December and up 3.3 per cent year-over-year.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. leading indicator for January. Consensus is a month-over-month decline of 0.3 per cent.

Earnings include: B2Gold Corp.; Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund; GFL Environmental Holdings Inc.; Gibson Energy Inc.; Home Depot Inc.; IA Financial Corp. Inc.; Medtronic PLC; Palo Alto Networks Inc.; Walmart Inc.

Wednesday February 21

Japan trade deficit and machine tool orders

Euro zone consumer confidence

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s new housing price index for January. Estimate is a decline of 0.1 per cent from December and down 0.7 per cent year-over-year.

(2 p.m. ET) Minutes from U.S. Fed’s Jan. 30-31 meeting are released.

Earnings include: Alamos Gold Inc.; Bausch + Lomb Corp.; CCL Industries Inc.; Crombie REIT; Gildan Activewear Inc.; Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.; Northland Power Inc.; Nutrien Ltd.; Nvidia Corp.; SSR Mining Inc.; Suncor Energy Inc.; Stelco Holdings Inc.; Storage Vault Canada Inc.; Superior Plus Corp.; Whitecap Resources Inc.

Thursday February 22

Japan and Euro zone PMI

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian retail sales for December. Consensus is a rise of 0.8 per cent from November.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Feb. 17. Estimate is 218,000, up 6,000 from the previous week.

(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global PMIs for February.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for January. The Street is projecting an annualized rate rise of 5.0 per cent.

Also: B.C. budget

Earnings include: Altus Group Inc.; Boardwalk REIT; Canadian Apartment Properties REIT; Capstone Mining Corp.; Cascades Inc.; Eldorado Gold Corp.; Exchange Income Corp.; Intuit Inc.; Loblaw Companies Inc.; Lundin Gold Inc.; Maple Leaf Foods Inc.; Newmont Goldcorp Corp.; Pembina Pipeline Corp.; Primo Water Corp.; Quebecor Inc.; Teck Resources Ltd.

Friday February 23

Germany GDP

Also: Ottawa’s budget balance for December.

Earnings include: Centerra Gold Inc.; CI Financial Corp.; Docebo Inc.; Onex Corp.; TransAlta Corp.

TC Energy Corp. raised its dividend as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1.46 billion.

The pipeline operator says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 96 cents per share, up from 93 cents per share.

The increased payment to shareholders came as TC Energy reported its profit amounted to $1.41 per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31.

The result compared with loss of $1.45 billion or $1.42 per share in the last three months of 2022 when it took a large one-time charge related to rising cost at its Coastal GasLink project.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings per share came to $1.35 in its latest quarter, up from comparable earnings of $1.11 per share a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $4.24 billion, up from $4.04 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2024.

Air Canada reported a fourth-quarter profit of $184 million, up from $168 million a year earlier, as its operating revenue rose 11 per cent.

The airline says the profit amounted to 41 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with 41 cents per diluted share in the last three months of 2022.

Operating revenue totalled $5.18 billion, up from $4.68 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The airline says the increase came as its operated capacity increased nine per cent compared with a year earlier.

Operating expenses increased eight per cent due to higher costs reflecting the increased capacity and traffic, partially offset by lower jet fuel prices.

On an adjusted basis, Air Canada says it lost 12 cents per diluted share in its latest quarter, compared with an adjusted loss of 61 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2024.

IGM HIGHLIGHTS

• Fourth quarter net earnings of $419.6 million or 176 cents per share compared to $224.7 million or 94 cents per share in 2022. Adjusted net earnings, excluding a gain on the sale of IPC of $220.7 million,¹ were $198.9 million or 84 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $224.7 million or 94 cents per share in 2022.
• Annual net earnings of $1,148.9 million or $4.82 per share compared to $867.2 million or $3.63 per share in 2022. Annual adjusted net earnings, excluding other items,¹ were $820.7 million or $3.44 per share compared to $867.2 million or $3.63 per share in 2022.
• Assets under management and advisement of $240.2 billion, up 5.6% from the prior quarter and up 7.1% from the fourth quarter of 2022.² 
• IGM’s assets under management and advisement including strategic investments were $389.4 billion as at December 31, 2023, compared with $372.9 billion at September 30, 2023 and $288.3 billion at December 31, 2022.²
• Net outflows were $1.2 billion compared to net outflows of $520 million in 2022.²   

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/igm-financial-reports-fourth-quarter-and-2023-earnings-800517692.html