TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (16,298.17, up 299.43 points.)
Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Energy. Up 57 cents, or 1.56 per cent, to $37.12 on 19.4 million shares.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB). Health care. Up $2.36, or 40.55 per cent, to $8.18 on 17.9 million shares.
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down 12 cents, or 0.77 per cent, to $15.50 on 10.4 million shares.
Aphria Inc. (TSX:APHA). Health care. Up 61 cents, or 9.36 per cent, to $7.13 on 10 million shares.
Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Industrials. Up half a cent, or 1.69 per cent, to 30 cents on 8.7 million shares.
Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K). Materials. Up 89 cents, or 8.36 per cent, to $11.54 on 7.5 million shares.
Companies in the news:
Resolute Forest Products (TSX:RFP). Up 18 cents or 2.8 per cent to $6.56. Resolute Forest Products chief executive Yves Laflamme will retire next year and be replaced by chief financial officer Remi Lalonde, the company announced Thursday. The forestry company says Laflamme will step down on March 1, 2021, at which point Lalonde will join the board of the Montreal-based lumber, paper and tissue maker. Resolute says the search is now on for a new CFO to replace Lalonde, a lawyer by training who joined the company 11 years ago and went on to lead operations at the pulp, paper and power plant in Thunder Bay, Ont. Lalonde will take charge of the 7,000-person company as lessening demand for paper changes the forestry industry.
Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B). Up 29 cents to $31.74. Quebecor Inc. would consider working with other companies inside or outside Quebec if they want to bundle its Videotron Fizz discount mobile service with their own service offerings, top executives of the Montreal-based company said Thursday. In answer to analyst questions about a possible partnership with Cogeco or another cable company outside of Quebec, Videotron president Jean-Francois Pruneau said it might make sense to strike a commercial partnership. He emphasized repeatedly that Videotron can't expand outside Quebec without help. All of Canada's cable and phone companies are working feverishly to win customers for their new generation of wireless and wireless networks.
Saputo Inc. (TSX:SAP). Down 21 cents to $32.44. Saputo Inc.'s net profit slipped 2.3 per cent in the second quarter of its fiscal year, the company reported Thursday, as sales in the food service sector continued to lag behind historical levels amid weak demand from restaurants, cafeterias and hotels. The Montreal-based dairy processor said while its revenues edged up in the quarter, its net earnings declined to $170.8 million or 42 cents per diluted share compared to $174.9 million or 44 cents per share a year earlier. Lino Saputo, Jr., Saputo’s board chairman and CEO, said the pandemic continues to influence the business. While Saputo said there were signs of recovery during the quarter with the gradual easing of government-imposed restrictions, he said the company is also "adapting to the new world." For the three months ended Sept. 30, adjusted profits dropped 7.2 per cent to $184.1 million, from $198.3 million in the second quarter of 2019.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ). Down 31 cents to $21.90. Conditions are right for more merger and acquisition activity in the Canadian oil and gas sector, says the president of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. On a conference call to discuss third-quarter results on Thursday, Tim McKay said the industry has reached a point in the business cycle where haves and have-nots are more clearly visible and that allows more deals to be completed. The comments came the morning after Calgary rival Tourmaline Oil Corp. announced a deal to purchase two private oil and gas companies for a total of about $526 million in cash and shares, a move expected to solidify its position as Canada's largest natural gas producer. Canadian Natural, a former top gas producer, said Thursday it is already ramping up investment in drilling on gas-and-liquids producing assets it obtained through its $111-million cash takeover of Calgary-based Painted Pony Energy Ltd., which closed in early October.
Lightspeed POS Inc. (TSX:LSPD). Up $7.40 or 16.3 per cent to $52.85. Lightspeed POS Inc. is shelling out US$440 million in cash and shares to acquire a U.S. cloud-based commerce business and bolster its support for small- and medium-sized businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Montreal-based Lightspeed said Thursday that it will pay US$145.2 million in cash and issue 9.5 million subordinate voting shares in a deal to buy ShopKeep Inc. Lightspeed offers cloud-based commerce platforms to small- and medium-sized businesses, while ShopKeep helps its 20,000 U.S. restaurant and retail clients accept any type of payment and provides automatic inventory tracking, employee management and real time sales reporting. The deal comes as Lightspeed reported a loss of US$19.5 million or 20 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. That compared with a loss of US$10.1 million or 12 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2020.
Companies in this story: (TSX:LSPD. TSX:CNQ, TSX:QBR.B, TSX:SAP, TSX:GWO, TSX:RFP)
The Canadian Press
