TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (14,833.69, up 2.95 points.)
Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Industrials. Down eight cents, or 15.09 per cent, to 45 cents on 35 million shares.
Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Energy. Up $1.35, or 3.12 per cent, to $44.62 on 28.2 million shares.
Freegold Ventures Ltd. (TSX:FVL). Materials. Up six cents, or 35.29 per cent, to 23 cents on 16 million shares.
Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC). Financials. Down 29 cents, or 1.74 per cent, to $16.40 on 10.5 million shares.
Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Up 32 cents, or 6.36 per cent, to $5.35 on 9 million shares.
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Up 67 cents, or 2.98 per cent, to $23.17 on 9 million shares.
Companies in the news:
Enbridge Inc. — Enbridge Inc. stock rose Thursday after it reported a $1.43-billion first-quarter net loss on non-cash charges but beat analyst expectations on adjusted earnings and reaffirmed its 2020 financial guidance in spite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company announced it would defer $1 billion in capital spending this year and cut costs by $300 million — including company wide salary cuts and voluntary staff reductions — to counter lost revenue from parts of its business impacted by lower commodity demand and prices. CEO Al Monaco said the company has no plans for layoffs.
Bombardier Inc. — Bombardier Inc. took a major earnings hit last quarter — with more losses to come — as fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic blocked aircraft deliveries and shut down operations across dozens of plants. The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported a $200 million loss in its first quarter despite a five per cent revenue boost and burned through $1.6 billion in cash as borders and factories closed in March when all non-essential work ground to a halt. The virus wound up costing the company between $600 million and $800 million last quarter.
Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSX:GWO). Down 88 cents or four per cent to $21.07. Great-West Lifeco Inc. says the stock market crash and drop in interest rates since December pushed its first-quarter net earnings down by almost 50 per cent compared with a year ago. The Winnipeg-based insurer says global financial markets plunged due to the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to experience significant volatility. Increases in insurance contract liabilities in response to lower equity markets, segregated fund guarantees and related hedging ineffectiveness, lower fee income and unrealized losses on seed capital hurt its quarterly earnings by about $300 million. Great-West says its net earnings fell to $342 million from $657 million during the same quarter last year.
Manulife Financial Corp. — Manulife Financial Corp.'s top executive says COVID-19 has caused first quarter revenues to tumble, even as the insurer rolled out a suite of digital tools to accommodate customers and employees working from home. While the Toronto-based company was scrambling to bring a new chatbot to North America, launch e-claims in Asia and revamp global sales processes to cut down on contact, its net income attributable to shareholders fell to $1.3 billion from $900 million in the same period the year before. Manulife earned 64 cents per diluted share for the three months ended Mar. 31, a 40 per cent decrease from the $1.08 per share it reported a year earlier.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (TSX:SNC). Down $2.15 or 8.9 per cent to $21.92. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. saw its first-quarter loss deepen compared with a year ago as it took a charge due to lower expected payments related to its sale in the Ontario's Highway 407 toll road. The engineering company says it lost $66 million or 38 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31 including a $57.2-million charge related to the fair value revalution of contingent payments related to the sale of a large part of its stake in 407 International Inc. The result compared with a loss of $17.3 million or 10 cents per share in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter totalled nearly $2.23 billion, down from $2.36 billion a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020.
The Canadian Press