TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (18,700.67, down 4.89 points.)
Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Industrials. Up seven cents, or 7.8 per cent, to 97 cents on 20.5 million shares.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank. (TSX:TD). Financials. Down 67 cents, or 0.81 per cent, to $81.96 on 15 million shares.
Bank of Nova Scotia. (TSX:BNS). Financials. Down 93 cents, or 1.17 per cent, to $78.62 on 11.1 million shares.
Telus Corp. (TSX:T). Telecommunications. Down 25 cents, or 0.99 per cent, to $25.03 on nine million shares.
BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB). Technology. Down $1.24, or 10.53 per cent, to $10.54 on 7.3 million shares.
TC Energy Corp. (TSX:TRP). Energy. Down 76 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $57.61 on 7.2 million shares.
Companies in the news:
Dollarama Inc. (TSX:DOL). Up $3.28, or 6.3 per cent, to $55.52. Dollarama Inc. remained bullish on the future of the discount chain in Canada even as its profits slipped amid higher costs and restrictions related to the pandemic in its latest quarter. The Montreal-based retailer raised the number of stores it plans to have in Canada to 2,000 within the next decade, a nearly 50 per cent jump compared with its total of 1,356 stores at the end of January. The discount retailer also said it plans to increase its quarterly dividend by seven per cent. The plan to open new stores across the country continues despite a tough fourth quarter — historically the company's strongest sales period of the year. In Quebec, where Dollarama operates nearly a third of its stores, retailers were prohibited for much of the winter from selling items deemed non-essential, with some stores cordoning off entire aisles of merchandise. The retailer said it earned $173.9 million or 56 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Jan. 31, down from a profit of $178.7 million or 57 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
Rogers Communications. Inc. (TSX:RCI.B). Down $1.69, or 2.8 per cent, to $57.95. Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau says a planned takeover by Rogers of Shaw Communications' Freedom Mobile banner would undermine 15 years of government policy supporting strong competitors to the country's three biggest wireless carriers. Peladeau's comments came as MPs review Rogers Communications' proposed $26-billion purchase of Shaw. The deal announced March 15 needs regulatory approval to go forward. Rogers and Freedom Mobile — which is Canada's fourth-largest wireless carrier — are direct competitors in some markets. Peladeau's Quebecor and its Videotron subsidiary are relatively new competitors in the wireless industry but have become strong competitors in Quebec, where they battle against Rogers, Bell and Telus. Peladeau told members of the industry, science and technology committee that a takeover of Freedom Mobile by Rogers would eliminate a strong competitor in Ontario and Western Canada and return Canada to where it was in 2007.
Arc Resources Ltd. (TSX:ARX). Down four cents to $7.72. Shareholders owning more than 95 per cent of the stock in Arc Resources Ltd. have approved its merger with fellow Calgary-based producer Seven Generations Energy Ltd. to create Canada's sixth largest oil and gas company. At a brief special virtual meeting on Wednesday, Arc chairman Hal Kvisle, who will have the same role in the merged company, said the motion to issue shares had been overwhelmingly approved. In an earlier meeting, shareholders of Seven Generations also voted to approve the deal. The deal was valued at $8.1 billion including debt when announced in February. The offer of 1.108 Arc shares for each Seven Generations share values Seven Generations at about $2.86 billion. The combined company is to operate as Arc Resources and remain headquartered in Calgary. Arc CEO Terry Anderson is to continue in his role while Seven Generations CEO Marty Proctor is to become vice-chair.
Bonterra Energy Corp. (TSX:BNE). Down 15 cents, or 3.6 per cent, to $4.02. The chairman and CEO of Bonterra Energy Corp. says he's relieved that rival Obsidian Energy Ltd. ended its hostile takeover campaign this week after seven months of trying to persuade investors to accept a share-swap deal. George Fink says that despite feeling "animosity" from some of the criticisms sent his way during the lengthy campaign, he is still willing to work collaboratively with Obsidian and, in fact, the companies share ownership of some oil and gas properties. The latest extension of Obsidian's offer to swap two of its shares for each Bonterra share closed on Monday with interim CEO Stephen Loukas explaining it would not renew its bid because the economic environment had changed. In an interview on Wednesday, Fink said his company is returning to its traditional role as a producer of just over 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day that spends to maintain production and pay down debt while providing a steady flow of dividends to shareholders.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2021.
The Canadian Press
