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Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
ZCL Composites Inc. (ZCL-T) says its board has granted a temporary 30-day medical leave of absence to president and CEO Ron Bachmeier.
"During the leave Mr. Bachmeier will undertake exploratory tests and address possible treatment options for a recently diagnosed benign tumour," the company said. It hasn't appointed an interim president and CEO.
"Mr. Bachmeier will continue in these roles and will stay involved in running of the company to the extent practical," the company stated in a release.
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Slate Retail REIT (SRT.UN-T) is buying Mooresville Town Square, an 88-per-cent occupied Lowes Foods-anchored centre in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, for $16.7-million (U.S.)
It's the REIT's sixth property in North Carolina, the company stated in a release.
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Callidus Capital Corp. (CBL-T) says its board has approved a 20-per-cent increase in the regular dividend payable to shareholders to $1.20 per share annually, up from $1.
The dividend will be paid out at 10 cents per month.
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New Flyer Industries Inc. (NFI-T) reported a backlog of 9,808 equivalent units (EUs), valued at $5.08-billion at the end of the third quarter, compared to 10,010 EUs (valued at $5.24-billion) at the end the second quarter, and 7,290 EUs (valued at $3.59-billion) at the end of the third quarter of 2015.
It said it delieverd 777 EUs in the third quarter, up 152 EUs compared to 625 EUs a year ago.
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Chorus Aviation Inc. (CHR-T) says it has received an exemption to treat its Class A variable voting shares and Class B voting shares as a single class for the purposes of applicable take-over bid requirements and early warning reporting requirements contained under Canadian securities laws.
Chorus said it applied for the exemption, effective immediately, to facilitate an investment in variable voting shares by non-Canadians, as defined under the Canada Transportation Act.
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Park Lawn Corp. (PLC-X) says it has received approval for the listing of its common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange, starting Wednesday.
"Since 2013, PLC has become the largest, publicly-traded Canadian company in this industry, expanding from six cemeteries in the [Greater Toronto Area] to 56 cemetery and funeral home operations across Canada and in the U.S.," stated chairman and CEO Andrew Clark in a release. "We believe graduation to the TSX is the right next step as we continue to grow our operations."
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Timbercreek Financial (TF-T) says Ottawa's recently announced changes to insured residential mortgages are not expected to impact the company's portfolio or financial performance.
"We do not have any exposure to insured mortgages, which is the target of the rule changes," said CEO Andrew Jones in a release. "An important differentiator for Timbercreek is our focus on lending against income-producing investment properties, including commercial real estate and multi-residential rental apartments."
He said the single family and condominium markets most impacted represent less than 5 per cent of the portfolio.
In fact, more than 50 per cent of the portfolio is tied to multi-residential rental apartments, a segment of the market we believe may see improvements in occupancy levels resulting from the regulation changes," he said.