TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (20,696.17, down 488.78 points.)
Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Energy. Down 30 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $57.23 on 17.8 million shares.
Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Up 17 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $25.87 on 12.6 million shares.
Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC). Financials. Down 54 cents, or 2.1 per cent, to $24.89 on 11.6 million shares.
Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSX:ATH). Energy. Down eight cents, or three per cent, to $2.58 on 9.6 million shares.
Baytex Energy Corp. (TSX:BTE). Energy. Down 22 cents, or 3.2 per cent, to $6.69 on 8.9 million shares.
Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Industrials. Down 11 cents, or 8.3 per cent, to $1.21 on 8.3 million shares.
Companies in the news:
Aritzia Inc. (TSX:ATZ). Down $3.21 or seven per cent to $42.66. Aritzia Inc. says founder and chief executive Brian Hill is stepping down from the role after leading the clothing retailer for 38 years. The Vancouver-based company, which went public in 2016, says president and chief operating officer Jennifer Wong will step into the CEO role, while Hill will stay on as executive chair of the board. Hill and his family founded Aritzia in 1984, while Wong started at the company in 1987 as a part-time sales associate. The change in leadership comes as the company continues its expansion plans into the U.S., which helped boost its net revenue growth in its last quarter by 66.1 per cent from a year earlier. Aritzia says net revenue in its fourth quarter came in at $444.3 million, up from $267.5 million for the same quarter last year. Net income was reported as $34.2 million, up 113 per cent from the $16.1 million a year earlier.
Bombardier Inc. — Bombardier Inc. bolstered its business jet backlog in its first quarter, ramping up cash flow as more wealthy high-fliers opt for private plane travel in the COVID-19 era. The company increased its backlog of private jet orders by US$1.3 billion or 11 per cent to US$13.5 billion. The bookings uptick left Bombardier with free cash flow of US$173 million, far above analyst expectations of a more than US$200-million loss. The business jet maker, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, said its loss attributable to equity holders totalled US$287 million or 12 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit attributable to equity holders of US$5.04 billion or US$2.03 per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter amounted to US$1.25 billion, down from US$1.34 billion in the same quarter last year.
Shopify Inc. (TSX:SHOP). Down $88.67 or 14.3 per cent to $529.63. Shopify Inc. is making the biggest acquisition in its history as it tries to reverse the flagging faith in its growth path that has knocked it well off the perch of Canada's most valuable company. The e-commerce giant had already lost well over $100 billion in market capitalization in recent months before its announcement Thursday that it would buy logistics company Deliverr Inc. for US$2.1 billion pushed its stock down around 14 per cent. Shopify is pinning much of its hopes for a turnaround on Deliverr, which it bought to help deepen its inventory capabilities, broaden its storage and freight services and gain access to a new set of warehouses and couriers. The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported Thursday a first-quarter loss of US$1.5 billion or US$11.70 per diluted share on US$1.2 billion in revenue. The result compared with a profit of US$1.3 billion or US$9.94 per diluted share on US$988.6 million in revenue in the same quarter last year.
BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE). Down 37 cents to $69.04. BCE Inc. says it's spending heavily on infrastructure to meet rising data demands as more customers switch to the 5G and fibre networks. The higher-capacity systems and plans are in turn leading to more revenue, said company chief executive Mirko Bibic on an earnings conference call Thursday. The company is expecting to see a similar trend as it continues to roll out its fibre network for wireline customers, he said. The company said its profit attributable to common shareholders totalled $877 million or 96 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, up from $642 million or 71 cents per share a year earlier. Operating revenue totalled $5.85 billion, up from $5.71 billion in the first three months of 2021. Wireless revenue rose to $2.21 billion compared with $2.1 billion a year ago, while wireline revenue slipped to $3.01 billion from $3.08 billion. Bell Media revenue totalled $825 million, up from $713 million in the same quarter last year.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ). Down $1.72 or 2.1 per cent to $81.90. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s profits more than doubled from a year ago in the first quarter, as surging oil prices pushed the Calgary-based energy company closer to reaching its debt reduction target. On Thursday, CNRL said it earned $3.1 billion or $2.63 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, up from $1.38 billion or $1.16 per diluted share in the same quarter last year. With the war in Ukraine pushing oil prices to heights not seen in years, CNRL said it now expects its net debt level to fall below $8 billion in late 2022 or early 2023. The company's net debt sat at $13.8 billion at the end of the first quarter. CNRL reported product sales in the quarter of $12.13 billion, up from $7.02 billion in the first quarter of 2021. Adjusted net earnings from operations amounted to $2.86 per diluted share, up from $1.03 per diluted share in the first three months of 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2022.
The Canadian Press
