Today's small-cap stocks to watch

Descartes Systems Group Inc , a provider of logistics-management software and services, said net income for the third quarter was $2.7-million, or 4 cents a share, compared with $1.6-million or 3 cents a share a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA per diluted share for third quarter fiscal year 12 was $0.13, up 18 per cent from $0.11 in third quarter fiscal year 11. Revenues of $28.5-million were up 10 per cent. Analysts, on average, were expecting the company to earn 11 cents a share on a revenue of $29-million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Retailer Reitmans (Canada) Limited reported that third-quarter net earnings decreased 49 per cent to $10.561-million or $0.16 diluted earnings per share as compared to $20.69-million or $0.31 diluted earnings per share for the same period last year. Sales decreased 3.2 per cent to $254.1-million as compared with $262.5-million. Same store sales decreased by 5.8 per cent. The company's gross margin decreased from 66.2 per cent to 65.8 per cent.

Verde Potash Plc said it has successfully operated a continuous rotary kiln pilot plant to produce Potassium Chloride ('KCl'), the conventional potash fertilizer. Verde has engaged SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. to complete a review of capital and operating costs and should be in a position to reveal results in first quarter 2012. "This achievement marks a significant possible opportunity for Brazil, one of the world's largest importers and consumers of KCl, to supply more of its potash requirements from its domestic resources," it said. Verde said it controls a very large potash resource amenable to strip mining and strategically located in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The company's current potash resource could support a six-million tonnes per annum KCl production scenario for over twenty years, though Verde is considering a scalable production strategy, it added. The current selling price for KCl in Brazil's Cerrado is $660/tonne (U.S.). Brazil imported 6.4 million tonnes of KCl from January to October this year.

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 82 per cent of a 66,500 square foot medical office condominium property in Calgary. The purchase is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011, subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be immediately accretive. The purchase price will be $11.85-million, subject to adjustments.

NorthWest will assume the vendor's existing mortgage, having a principal amount of approximately $10.13-million, an interest rate of 5.87 per cent and a 2013 maturity. The equity portion of the REIT's investment will be funded from existing resources. The investment will be the REIT's eighth acquisition in Greater Calgary and its thirteenth asset in the Province of Alberta, including the recently announced pending acquisition of Willow Brook Medical Centre in Airdrie. This comes only days after it entered into an agreement to acquire a 33,800 square foot medical office and retail property in Nova Scotia.

Gold Reserve Inc. , which lost 4.5 per cent yesterday on the TSX, said it has received a notice from the Toronto Stock Exchange that the company does not meet the Original Listing Requirements of the exchange due to the illegal expropriation of the Brisas property by the Venezuelan government. Trading in the company's common shares will continue for 30 days during which time the company has a right to appeal this decision. Should the appeal be unsuccessful, Gold Reserve will seek a listing on an alternative Canadian exchange such as the TSX Venture Exchange or the NEX so that there is, to the extent possible, uninterrupted trading for the company's securities.

Regardless, the company remains listed on the NYSE-Amex under the terms of a continued listing agreement that was entered in October. The company said its international arbitration against the Republic of Venezuela regarding the illegal expropriation of its Venezuelan properties is "proceeding well" with the hearing scheduled for February 2012. The company also continues to pursue possible settlement of the arbitration but no assurances can be given at this time that it will be successful in reaching a settlement.

Bellus Health Inc. , which is trading close to a year low 3.5 cents, announced today that it has signed an exclusive license and distribution agreement with Integris Pharma Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Coronis Research S.A., a leading independent Clinical Research Organization in Greece. The company said Pursuant to the Agreement, Integris has secured the exclusive right to market and sell patented natural health product, VIVIMIND, in Greece and Cyprus. =

Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. , developer of renewable and environmentally sustainable biomass resources from flax, hemp and other bast fibers, said today that it has signed a development and supply agreement with Target to evaluate the use of its CRAiLAR Flax fiber in Target's domestic textiles category beginning December 1. The company said the agreement includes two years of exclusivity in the category and calls for Target's evaluation of CRAiLAR Flax in a number of products including sheets, top of bed, shower curtains, window treatments, table linens, decorative pillows, towels, and more.

Well servicing company CWC Well Services Corp. said today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with a private company for the sale of its nitrogen assets and business for proceeds of $7.55-million in cash. The deal is expected to close on or about Dec. 9, 2011. The proceeds from the sale will be used for general corporate purposes, the company added.

Poynt Corporation , which closed Wednesday near its 20-day SMA $0.15, announced today that the award-winning Poynt mobile local search and advertising platform is immediately available on new and existing Samsung GALAXY Series devices. The leader in mobile local search and advertising said the local search and advertising platform will be available on Samsung Apps in the United States, India, Canada, Germany, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, France and Spain.

Open Range Energy Corp. announced today that its most recently completed horizontal well targeting the Notikewin Formation at its core Ansell/Sundance Deep Basin property has achieved an initial 7-day production rate IP7 of 7.0 mmcf per day plus natural gas liquids at a casing pressure of 12,400 KPa. The company said this adds approximately 1,230 boe per day in net production and increases its current production to approximately 6,000 boe per day.