Drill pipes are stacked on a trailer at a Baytex Energy Ltd. in the Pembina oil field near Pigeon Lake, Alberta, Canada.Norm Betts/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.
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA-T) says it has signed a contract for $2.4-million with the Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) to provide a near real-time forest alert service.
"With access to MDA's monthly forest change detection alerts, APP will be able to assure stakeholders that natural forested areas were not cleared in connection with the production of their products," the company stated.
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Slate Retail REIT (SRT.UN-T) says it has entered into a $100-million (U.S.) interest rate swap for a term of five years at a fixed rate of 1.71 per cent.
"The swap has the effect of fixing the interest cost for approximately 12 per cent of the REIT's floating rate debt," the company stated.
It also announced an agreement to acquire West Valley Marketplace in Pennsylvania for $34.5-million.
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Baytex Energy Corp. (BTE-T; BTE-N) says its Eagle Ford operations, suspended due to Hurricane Harvey, were inspected and have resumed.
"With very little damage to production facilities on Baytex lands, our production in the Eagle Ford has steadily increased as market access has improved," the company stated. "We are currently producing at or near full capacity compared to pre-Hurricane Harvey levels."
It estimates the impact on its third-quarter production to be approximately 2,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
"This represents less than 1 per cent of our anticipated corporate production for 2017," it said, adding that annual production guidance of 69,000 to 70,000 boe/d was maintained.
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Gibson Energy Inc. (GEI-T) announced the construction of 1.1 million barrels of new tankage at its Hardisty Terminal.
It said the tanks are expected to be placed in service in the third quarter of 2019 and will increase the total capacity of the terminal to 10 million barrels.
"Our Hardisty Terminal continues to demonstrate its commercial competitiveness and this contract affirms the ongoing demand for our strategic storage infrastructure in support of incremental oil sands brownfield development," said CEO Steve Spaulding. "We will continue to focus on the build-out of the undeveloped acreage at both our Hardisty and Edmonton terminals, and the growth of the proportion of our cash flow streams attributable to the Infrastructure segment, as our number one strategic priority."
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Savaria Corp. (SIS-T) says its board approved a 38-per-cent increase in the company's dividend to 36 cents annually from 26 cents.
It also said the quarterly dividend will be paid monthly at 3 cents per share starting with the dividend payable on Oct. 16 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Oct. 2.
"We have completed the acquisition of Span-America, our financial position is excellent and we are producing solid cash flow," said CEO Marcel Bourassa.
"Considering the aging population and its desire to age at home, we expect continued growth of over 10 per cent in our lift division over the next five years and we maintain our objective to generate revenue of some $500-million by the end of 2021."
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Sherritt International Corp. (S-T) says all of its Cuba-based personnel are safely accounted for in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
It also said the facilities associated with its Moa Joint Venture as well as its oil and gas and power operations incurred "only minimal damages" as a result of the hurricane.
"We are very grateful that all of our employees in Cuba are safe and that our facilities had minimal impact given the considerable damage that Hurricane Irma has inflicted on the region," said CEO David Pathe in a release. "As we work with our Cuban partners and local authorities, we will determine what impact, if any, the disruption caused by Irma will have on our expected 2017 production totals."
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AlarmForce Industries (AF-T) reported third-quarter revenue for continuing operations of $10-million compared to $9.8-million in the comparative period in 2016.
Its net loss was $476,000 or 4 cents per share compared to a loss of $3.8-million or 33 cents a year ago.
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Wall Financial Corp. (WFC-T) reported second-quarter revenue of $132.9-million down from $188.1-million a year ago.
Net earnings were $6.9-million or 20 cents per share compared to $12.6-million or 38 cents a year ago.
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WestJet Airlines (WJA-T) reported a load factor of 90.6 per cent in August, an increase of 4.1 percentage points compared to a year ago.
Revenue passenger miles, or traffic, increased 10.6 per cent versus a year ago, and capacity, measured in available seat miles, grew 5.6 per cent over the same period.
The airline said it flew an all-time monthly record of 2.3 million guests in August, a year-over-year increase of 13.8 per cent or approximately 288,000 additional guests.
"We are extremely pleased with our double-digit traffic growth, as we reported our highest ever load factor of 90.6 per cent, flew the most monthly number of guests in our 21-year history and set a new single day record on August 8th by flying 81,423 guests," said CEO Gregg Saretsky.
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Cronos Group Inc. (MJN-X) says it has become the first cannabis company to be admitted into the Nasdaq International Designation program under the symbol OTC – Nasdaq International Designation: PRMCF.
"We've always had a strong U.S. investor base and that investor base continues to grow. This designation will improve Cronos' visibility across U.S. capital markets and increase shareholder confidence and liquidity," said Mike Gorenstein, CEO of Cronos.
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DHX Media Ltd. (DHX.A-T; DHX.B-Q) says its Peanuts Worldwide subsidiary has renewed its license agreement with Cedar Fair's 11 amusement park locations.
"The new agreement extends Cedar Fair's North American exclusive use of Peanuts in its attractions, entertainment and sports, food and beverage, lodging and retail operations to 2025," the company stated. It said an added five-year option, exercisable at Cedar Fair's discretion, brings the potential contract extension to 2030.
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Enwave Corp. (ENW-X) says it has signed a technology evaluation and license option agreement with Sun-Rype Products Ltd., a Canadian fruit-based food and beverage manufacturer.
The two companies say they will collaborate for 12 months to develop "unique and innovative fruit-based products" using Enwave's Radiant Energy Vacuum dehydration technology.
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American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP (HOT.UN-T) says damage to its properties from Hurricane Irma has been minimal.
"Of the 14 AHIP owned hotels in the region, 13 hotels are operating at capacity, while the Kingsland, Georgia hotel remains under an evacuation order," the company stated. "In advance of the storm, all hotel teams completed their emergency preparedness checklists and have since reported minimal water damage, though several have experienced intermittent loss of power."
It said conditions in the impacted area "remain fluid, so while the hotels are operating at capacity right now, bookings for the next few days may fluctuate depending on the needs of first responders, utility crews, local communities and travellers."
It said room cancellation fees are being waived and pets are being accepted at no additional charge at all AHIP owned hotels in the area.
"We will continue to assess the damage in the days and weeks ahead and address the needed repairs while we continue to provide support and assistance to our guests and staff in the area," the company said. "As a prudent hotel owner and operator, AHIP properties and operations are fully insured and will be addressed with our insurance companies in due course."
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