TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (19,188.03, down 25.13 points.)
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Up one cent, or 0.04 per cent, to $26.94 on 10.8 million shares.
Aphria Inc. (TSX:APHA). Health care. Down 98 cents, or 5.59 per cent, to $16.55 on 9.6 million shares.
Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Down 48 cents, or 4.84 per cent, to $9.43 on 8.9 million shares.
UEX Corp. (TSX:UEX). Materials. Down 9.5 cents, or 20 per cent, to 38 cents on 8.2 million shares.
Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSX:ATH). Energy. Up three cents, or 4.29 per cent, to 73 cents on 8.1 million shares.
Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Energy. Up 38 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $47.98 on 7.6 million shares.
Companies in the news:
Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX). Down 24 cents to $27.06. Barrick Gold Corp. says a proposal to hand out US$750 million in cash to its shareholders has been approved by those who stand to pocket the outlay of 42 cents per share. The Toronto mining company says shareholders voted 99 per cent in favour of the return of capital motion at its virtual annual meeting on Tuesday. Barrick suggested the payouts in February. The company has been buoyed by stronger gold and copper prices and is flush with cash after realizing $1.5 billion in proceeds from the sale of non-core assets since 2019. Last month, Barrick reported preliminary first-quarter production of 1.1 million ounces of gold and 93 million pounds of copper, noting average market prices for gold of US$1,794 per ounce and for copper of US$3.86 per pound. In an update in April, Barrick said since its merger with Randgold Resources two years ago, it has raised the quarterly dividend threefold, reduced net debt to zero, and had US$5.2 billion in cash on hand and an undrawn US$3-billion credit facility.
Suncor Energy Inc. — Suncor Energy Inc. is delaying a planned maintenance shutdown at its Base Plant oilsands mine upgrader in view of surging COVID-19 outbreaks that led to a state of emergency being declared last week for the Fort McMurray area of northern Alberta. The delay of the maintenance "turnaround" for one of the coker units in the upgrader will allow the company to avoid increasing the number of contractors in the region until after similar work now underway at the nearby Syncrude oilsands mine is completed, without affecting production guidance, said CEO Mark Little. Suncor reported producing 519,900 barrels per day of upgraded synthetic crude in the first quarter, up from 503,600 bpd in the first quarter of 2020. The increase was due in part to efficiencies from completion of a project to add pipeline connections between upgraders at its Base Plant and Syncrude (which is 58.74 per cent owned by Suncor), it said. The Calgary-based oilsands producer and refiner says it had net earnings of $821 million in the first three months of 2021, including an after-tax restructuring charge of $126 million related to workforce reductions.
Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO). Down 86 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to $36.51. Imperial Oil Ltd. investors have voted 86 per cent to defeat a shareholder resolution that it adopt a target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But the vote held during the Calgary-based company's virtual annual meeting exposes a rift between its parent, U.S. giant Exxon Mobil Corp., which owns 69.6 per cent of Imperial, and its other shareholders, as the company noted 58 per cent of the shares not held by Exxon were voted in favour of the resolution. Aequo Shareholder Engagement Services, acting on behalf of Quebec group retirement system Batirente, had argued that Imperial's current 2023 emissions reduction target is a step in the right direction but that it is also important to have a long-term strategy. Its motion would have required that Imperial join energy companies including Cenovus Energy Inc., Enbridge Inc., ConocoPhillips, BP, Shell and Total in setting a long-term emissions reduction target. Imperial CEO Brad Corson, however, said at the company's virtual annual meeting that the board recommended voting against the proposal because, although it supports initiatives to control global warming, it is "premature'' to set targets before it knows how to reach them.
Bausch Health Companies Inc. (TSX:BHC). Down $4.14, or 10.7 per cent, to $34.45. Bausch Health Companies Inc. is preparing to spin off its eyecare business this fall while also considering suitable alternatives including a sale of the business, CEO Joseph Papa said Tuesday. He said that the company has a pathway to spin off Bausch and Lomb sometime after October but will always be open to other alternatives or pathways that create value for shareholders. The Quebec-based company announced that Papa will head the new eyecare business while Sam Eldessouky will become chief financial officer with Paul Herendeen's departure from the role on May 31 to become special adviser to the chairman. A new leadership team will be selected in the coming couple of months to run the remaining part of the business, referred to as Bausch Pharma until it is rebranded. Both companies will remain domiciled in Canada and will have corporate offices in Bridgewater, N.J. It also plans to apply to list Bausch and Lomb on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges, where the overall company is currently listed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2021.
The Canadian Press