Our roundup of Canadian small-caps in the news today.
Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
DavidsTea Inc. (DTEA-Q) announced on Thursday that it will be "evaluating strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value," including a potential sale of the company, while also releasing third-quarter results.
Sales for the quarter decreased to $43-million from $44.1-million in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. Comparable sales decreased by 6.8 per cent, the company said.
Its loss came in at 25 cents per share compared to 20 cents a year ago. The loss was 17 cents on an adjusted basis. Analysts were expecting a loss of 15 cents and revenue of $46.2-million.
"We are disappointed with our third-quarter results, which came in below anticipated sales and profitability," stated CEO Joel Silver.
The company said its board decided to "explore strategic alternatives in order to enhance shareholder value. This process will include the evaluation of strategic alternatives to maximize the company's value, which may include a sale or other transaction."
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AutoCanada Inc. (ACQ-T) announced two new agreements that it says will strengthen its relationship with GM Canada. The agreement permits AutoCanada's direct ownership and control of GM Canada dealerships, the company stated.
AutoCanada also said has reached an agreement with CanadaOne Auto Group, a company controlled by its founder and former CEO Patrick Priestner, "that will see AutoCanada assume control of five of the nine GM Canada dealerships where it held a majority equity stake with no voting rights, and CanadaOne Auto Group buying AutoCanada's interest in four dealerships."
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Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. (KBLT-X) says it's raising $85-million in a bought-deal financing.
It has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters co-led by TD Securities Inc. and Scotiabank.
Cobalt 27 said it will use the net proceeds to purchase up to 720 metric tonnes of physical cobalt currently under option for about $58-million (U.S.), representing an average price of $36.39 per pound.
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PolyMet Mining Corp (POM-T; PLM-N) reported a loss of $2.3-million (U.S.) in the third quarter or a penny per share, in line with expectations. That compared to a loss of $2.1-million or a penny per share last year.
The company also said it's changing its financial year-end from Jan. 31 to Dec. 31 "to better align with industry peers."
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Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc. (BRE-T) says it has acquired franchise agreements representing 38 real estate operations and 563 realtors across Canada for approximately $8.8-million.
The company said the agreements are estimated to generate an annual royalty stream of $1.2-million and will be effective Jan. 1.
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Brick Brewing Co. Ltd. (BRB-T) reported third-quarter revenue of $11.7-million up from $11.1-million a year earlier.
Net income was $387,015 or a penny per share versus $854,434 or 2 cents a year ago. Analysts were expecting revenue of $12.6-million and earnings of 2 cents in the most recent quarter.
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TransAlta Corp. (TAC-N; TA-T) issued a statement Friday morning responding "favourably" to details of the Alberta government's decision to allow carbon credits to be earned by existing wind and hydro generation in the Alberta fleet.
"Under Alberta's output-based allocation system for carbon emissions, TransAlta's existing wind and hydro facilities will receive credits for emissions below the performance standard of 0.37 tonnes of CO2 per MWh," the company stated.
"These credits can be used to offset up to 40 per cent, escalating to 60 per cent by 2022, of the carbon price obligations incurred by generation that exceeds the performance standard, which will be charged a price of $30 per tonne of CO2."
TransAlta said the carbon credit regime will allow it to allocate the emissions benefits from its existing renewables generation in Alberta to offset the direct carbon costs of its thermal generation, including generation from its coal-to-gas converted units.
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Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd. (LIQ-T) named James Burns as its vice chairman, effective immediately, and will "assume primary responsibility for the development of a cannabis strategy and be the lead executive for business transformation and investor relations."
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WeedMD Inc. (WMD-X) says it has been added to the North American Marijuana Index, the benchmark for the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (HMMJ-T).