TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:
CN update
Canadian National Railway Co. executives will discuss first-quarter earnings on Monday after markets close. Rival Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. reported on Apr. 21 a significantly lowered financial guidance due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, saying a drop in crude oil and automotive shipments will outweigh gains in grain traffic.
Oilpatch earnings
Husky Energy and Cenovus Energy will kick off the Q1 oilpatch earnings season on Wednesday. Both companies have been hit hard by the COVID-19-linked slowdown, with Husky recently cutting 80,000 barrels per day from production, and Cenovus suspending its dividend early in April.
Loblaw latest
Loblaw Companies Ltd. will hold a conference call Wednesday to discuss its first-quarter results. Grocers have seen demand spike since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, and Loblaw rival Metro Inc. reported last week that same-store food sales had jumped 9.7 per cent for the quarter.
Maple Leaf earnings
Maple Leaf Foods discusses first-quarter results on Wednesday. The producer of food products under several brands including Maple Leaf and Schneider's suspended operations in its poultry plant in Brampton, Ont., on April 8 after three employees at the facility tested positive for COVID-19.
February GDP numbers
Statistics Canada is set to release gross domestic product by industry figures for February on Thursday. The February data will not capture the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the agency released a "flash estimate" for March in response to the pandemic, which said GDP declined nine per cent — the biggest monthly drop on record — as the outbreak forced companies to close and workers to stay at home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2020.
The Canadian Press
