The fashion retailer’s jump was driven by same-store sales, it isn’t relying on expansions to juice revenue.Bloomberg
Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
Canada's biggest non-bank lender Home Capital Group Inc. (HCG-T) said on Thursday its high-interest savings deposits were expected to have fallen to about $128-million following the completion of Wednesday's settlements.
Deposits were expected to have fallen to about $134-million following completion of Tuesday's settlements.
Depositors have withdrawn more than 90 per cent of funds from Home Capital's high-interest savings accounts since March 27, when the company terminated the employment of former Chief Executive Martin Reid.
The withdrawals accelerated after April 19, when Canada's biggest securities regulator, the Ontario Securities Commission, accused Home Capital of making misleading statements to investors about its mortgage underwriting business.
The company, which is set to report its results after markets close on Thursday, has said the accusations are without merit.
Home Capital relies on deposits from savers to fund its lending to borrowers, such as self-employed workers or newcomers to Canada, who may not meet the strict criteria of the country's biggest banks.
Last month, the company agreed to receive $2 billion in emergency funding from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP). It has so far drawn down $1.4-billion from that facility.
The company said on Thursday its liquid assets stood at $1.02-billion at the end of Wednesday, which, combined with the funds not drawn down on the HOOPP credit facility, gives it access to available liquidity and credit capacity of $1.62-billion.
-- Reuters
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Second Cup Ltd. has parted ways abruptly with its chief executive officer, Alix Box, as the high-end café chain struggles to make gains in an increasingly intense market.
The Mississauga-based company said on Wednesday that Ms. Box, who took the top job about three years ago, was stepping down immediately as CEO and from her seat on the company's board of directors, and is being replaced on an interim basis by Garry MacDonald, a new board member and franchise-food consultant.
Second Cup hired Ms. Box, a former executive at luxury-fashion chain Holt Renfrew & Co. Ltd. and Starbucks Corp., to breathe new life into the fading Second Cup. But her blueprint for change, including an upscale redesign of the company's cafés, failed to show signs of a dramatic revival over all and faced some franchisee resistance.
At the same time, Second Cup grappled with a growing array of rivals, from Starbucks to McDonald's Corp. and Tim Hortons Inc., which recently relaunched its espresso-based coffees.
-- Marina Strauss
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Aritzia Inc. (ATZ-T) said fourth-quarter revenue increased by 17 per cent to $196.4 -million from $167.4-million a year earlier.
Net income increased by 15 per cent to $11.5-million from $10-million a year earlier.
Adjusted net income increased by 55.5 per cent to $18.3-million, or 16 cents per share, from $11.8-million, or 10 cents per share.
Analysts were expecting $198-million in revenue and earnings of 15 cents.
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Aimia Inc. (AIM-T) reported first-quarter revenue of $524.8-million, down 8 per cent from $570.1-million a year ago.
Net earnings were $9.6-million or 4 cents per share compared to a loss of $13.1-million and a loss of 12 cents a year ago.
Adjusted EPS was 22 cents versus 13 cents.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 29 cents and revenue of $536.-million.
Aimia also said David Johnston has been named group chief executive. He has been serving as interim CEO.
The company also said its partnership with Air Canada is expected to expire in June, 2020. (Air Canada confirmed the news this morning, and that it will launch its own program).
"Aimia strongly believes that a renewal of the company's long-term partnership would be the best and least disruptive option for both companies' customers, in particular Air Canada's frequent flyers," Aimia said in a release. "While Aimia remains open to further discussions with Air Canada, the company's strategic planning had already contemplated other post-2020 alternatives in parallel with the goal of ensuring that Aeroplan members retain access to a strong redemption offering around air rewards in the future. Given the state of current discussions, we will continue to pursue these alternatives actively."
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Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (BPF.UN-T) reported system-wide gross sales of $261.2-million in the first quarter up 3 per cent from a year ago.
Total revenue was $11.1-million up from $10.9-million a year earlier.
Net income was $6.6-million or 32 cents per share versus $8.5-million or 42 cents a year ago.
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Yamana Gold (YRI-T) has sold $80-million in shares of its spin-off company, Brio Gold Inc. (BRIO-T) to a group of underwriters co-led by Canaccord Genuity Corp., CIBC Capital Markets and National Bank Financial Ltd. They bought 26.7 million shares at $3. The stock closed at $3.29 on Wednesday.
Yamana said it will own about 55 per cent of Brio, down from 79 per cent.
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Knight Therapeutics Inc. (GUD-T) reported revenues of $1.8-million in the first quarter, up from $1.1-million a year earlier.
Net income was $6-million of 4 cents per share compared to $477,000 or a half a cent a year ago.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 3 cents and revenue of $1.7-million.
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MEG Energy Corp. (MEG-T) reported adjusted funds flow of $43-million for the first quarter compared to negative adjusted funds flow of $131-million for the same period in 2016.
"The increase in adjusted funds flow is directly correlated to increased bitumen realization as a result of an increase in average U.S. crude oil benchmark pricing."
The company recorded a first-quarter operating loss of $79-million compared to an operating loss of $197-million for the same period in 2016.
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American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP (HOT.UN-T) said first-quarter revenues increased 54 per cent to $61.7-million compared to $40.1-million for the same quarter last year "as a result of the acquisition of new hotels."
Net income for the quarter rose to $2.4-million or 4 cents per unit compared to a loss of $1.5-million or 4 cents per unit in the prior year.
Funds from operations were up 61 per cent to $11.6-million.
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Student Transportation Inc. (STB-T; STB-Q) reported revenue of $185.2-million (U.S.) for its fiscal third quarter, up from $173.2-million for the third quarter of fiscal 2016.
Net income was $7.9-million, or 8 cents per share, compared to $3.8-million, or 4 cents.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 7 cents and revenue of $185-million.
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Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CPH-T) reported first-quarter revenue from continuing operations of $8.1-million, up 18 per cent from $6.9-million a year earlier.
Its loss from continuing operations was $1.6-million, or 6 cents per share, compared with income from continuing operations of $1.8-million, or 7 cents a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] from continuing operations was $5.2-million, compared with $2.7-million a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting earnings of a penny and revenue of $8.9-million.
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Valener Inc. (VNR-T) the public investment vehicle in Gaz Métro Limited Partnership reported adjusted net income attributable to common shareholders of $32.9-million for the second quarter, up 2.5 per cent from a year earlier.
Adjusted net income came in at 85 per share versus 83 cents a year earlier.
Net income was $31.5-million for the second quarter compared to $28.4-million for the second quarter of fiscal 2016.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 88 cents per share.
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Hardwoods Distribution Inc. (HWD-T) reported first quarter revenue of $257.1-million up from $157.4-million a year earlier.
Profit was $7.9-million or 37 cents per share versus $4.6-million or 27 cents a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 36 cents and revenue of $253.1-million.
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Pollard Banknote Ltd. (PBL-T) reported first-quarter sales of $57.4-million down from $64-million a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of $65.7-million.
Net income was $1.8-million versus $3.6-million a year earlier.
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BSM Technologies Inc. (GPS-T) reported second-quarter revenue of $16-million, an increase of 5 per cent compared to $15.2-million in the second quarter of fiscal 2016.
Its net loss of $1.2-million or 1.4 cents per share compared to a loss of $858,000 or 10 cents year earlier.
Analysts were expecting a loss of a penny per share and revenue of $17.3-million.
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GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc. (GDI-T) said first-quarter revenue reached $243.3-million, up 16.5 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2016.
Net income was $700,000 or 3 cents per share compared to a net loss of $1-million, or 5 cents a year ago.
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IBI Group Inc. (IBG-T) reported revenue of $91.4-million in the first quarter compared to $88.6-million for the same period in 2016.
Net income was $3.9-million or 10 cents per share compared to a loss of $3.8-million or 12 cents a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 11 cents and revenue of $91.8-million.
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Black Diamond Group Ltd. (BDI-T) said revenue for the first quarter was $38.2-million, down 28 per cent from $52.9-million a year earlier, "primarily due to the impact of low commodity prices on utilization and pricing" in certain divisions.
Its net loss for the quarter was $5.5-million or 12 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $2.4-million or 6 cents a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting a loss of 10 cents and revenue of $39.7-million.
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Bonterra Energy Corp. (BNE-T) reported revenue of $49.3-million in the first quarter compared to $33.5-million a year earlier.
Net earnings were $475,000 or a penny per share versus a loss of $11.6-million or 35 cents a year earlier.
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Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. (PPY-T) said it generated net income for the first quarter of 2017 of $56.9-million or 56 cents per share compared to a net loss of $2.2-million or 2 cents in the first quarter of 2016.
Funds flow from operations increased by 226 per cent to $24.8-million compared to $7.6-million during the first quarter of 2016.
It also increased its credit facilities to $500-million, consisting of available credit facilities of $400-million and a development line of $100-million.
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Medical Facilities Corp. (DR-T) reported first-quarter revenue of $89-million (U.S.) up 17 per cent from $75.9-million a year ago. Analysts were expecting revenue of $89.5-million.
Income from operations was $13.3-million, compared to $14.8-million a year ago.
EPS was a loss of 2 cents compared to a loss of 19 cents a year earlier.
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