TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (20,925.49, down 151.86 points.)
Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ). Energy. Down $1.66, or three per cent, to $52.82 on 16.6 million shares.
Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K). Materials. Down 76 cents, or 10.2 per cent, to $6.69 on 14.9 million shares.
BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE). Telecommunications. Down 18 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $65.51 on 12.2 million shares.
Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Energy. Down 61 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $48.04 on 10.5 million shares.
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down 21 cents or 0.7 per cent, to $31.12 on 7.5 million shares.
Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Down 45 cents, or 2.8 per cent, to $15.64 on five million shares.
Companies in the news:
Empire Co. Ltd. (TSX:EMP.A). Up $1.08 or 2.9 per cent to $37.75. One of Canada's biggest food retailers says the pandemic is having a lasting impact on food consumption as consumers continue to spend more at grocery stores and cook at home rather than return to restaurants. Michael Medline, president and CEO of Empire Co. Ltd. and its subsidiary Sobeys Inc., said the shift appears to be permanent. One of the most notable changes in grocery shopping habits is an ongoing elevated basket size, indicating that consumers are buying more food with each shop. Empire, which owns multiple food retailers including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland and FreshCo, earned $175.4 million in its latest quarter, up from $161.4 million in the same quarter last year, helped by a nearly five per cent increase in sales. Sales in what was the company's second quarter totalled $7.32 billion, up from $6.98 billion. Yet Empire noted that its sales are affected by fluctuations in inflation, with higher prices starting to shape what products shoppers buy.
Transat A.T. (TSX:TRZ). Up one cent to $4.53. Transat A.T. lost more than $1 million per day last quarter as it began to ramp up operations, but says business is growing steadily despite a persistent pandemic. The three-month period ended Oct. 31 marked Transat's eighth straight quarter of losses as the travel company struggled to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, which has hobbled the global airline sector amid travel restrictions and lockdowns. Chief executive Annick Guérard said winter "will see the continuation of our return to more significant volumes," but that she remains "cautious" amid evolving coronavirus variants. The impact of the Omicron strain of COVID-19 "will not last long," she said, noting that bookings have picked up in the last few days as preliminary data suggests it may not be as severe as initially feared. Net lossattributable to shareholders fell by half in Transat's fourth quarter, totalling $121.3 million or $3.21 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $238.1 million or $6.31 per diluted share a year ago. Quarterly revenue more than doubled to $62.8 million from $28.4 million in the same period last year.
Transcontinental Inc. (TSX:TCL.A). Up 62 cents or 3.2 per cent to $19.93. Transcontinental Inc. capped off its financial year by posting a 23.6 per cent drop in fourth-quarter profits even though higher resin costs passed on to customers and an extra week of business helped raise revenues. The Montreal-based packaging and printing company says its net earnings attributable to shareholders was $39.2 million or 45 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, down from a profit of $51.3 million or 59 cents per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter was $775.8 million, up 18.3 per cent from $655.7 million a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the company said it earned $70.6 million or 81 cents per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $72.4 million or 84 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2020. Analysts on average had expected Transcontinental to report an adjusted profit of 73 cents per share on $705.4 million in revenue, according to financial data firm Refinitiv. For the full year, the company earned $130.6 million or $1.50 per diluted share on $2.64 billion of revenues, compared with a profit of $131.7 million or $1.51 per diluted share on $2.57 billion of revenues in the prior fiscal year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2021.
The Canadian Press