Swiss Chalet is owned by Cara Operations Ltd., which is a good dividend-growing company.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
Cara Operations Ltd. (CARA-T), the full-service restaurant company behind brands such as Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, St-Hubert and Milestones, reported third-quarter revenue of $188.7-million versus $114.5-million a year earlier.
Total system sales came in at $684.7-million with 1,249 restaurants versus $500.1-million for 1,127 restaurants for the same period a year ago. Same-restaurant sales (SRS) grew 0.9 per cent year-over-year.
"While we are not satisfied with SRS of 0.9 per cent for the quarter, we are encouraged by the positive trend," stated CEO Bill Gregson. "We will continue to focus on our goal of long-term sustainable SRS growth, which will be driven by the combination of our renovation strategy, focus on menu innovation, commitment to improved operations and guest experiences, and our investments in digital and e-commerce."
Net earnings were $21.2-million or 34 cents per share compared to net earnings of $14.9-million or 27 cents a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 45 cents per share and revenue of $195.8-million.
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Melcor Developments Ltd. (MRD-T), an Alberta-based real estate development and asset management company, reported third-quarter revenue of $62.8-million, down 1 per cent versus the same quarter a year earlier.
Net income for the quarter was $11.5-million or 34 cents per share down 29 per cent versus a year ago.
Funds from operations was $12.8-million or 34 cents per share, an increase of 25 per cent compared to last year.
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Pengrowth Energy Corp. (PGF-X; PGH-N) says it has an agreement for the sale of its Quirk Creek assets in southern Alberta for $6.5-million in cash.
"The sale includes the Quirk Creek sour gas plant and associated gathering systems related to the production of sour gas and liquids," the company stated in a release.
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Essential Energy Services Ltd. (ESN-T) says the Federal Court of Canada ruled in its favour in a patent infringement lawsuit that started in 2013 by Packers Plus Energy Services Inc.
"The Court ruled on November 3, 2017 that the patent was not valid and that Essential did not infringe on the patent," the company stated.
CEO Garnet Amundson called the decision "outstanding news," adding that the decision "upholds our assertion that the action was without merit."
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North American Palladium Ltd. (PDL-T) reported third-quarter net income of $11-million or 19 cents per share, compared to a loss of $1.6-million or 3 cents per share in the same period in 2016.
Revenue was $70.7-million compared to $48.5-million in the third quarter of 2016.
"The higher revenue in the quarter was primarily due to an increase in payable palladium sold," the company stated.
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Algoma Central Corp. (ALC-T), which operates the largest Canadian flag fleet of dry and liquid bulk carriers, announced a 12.5-per-cent increase in its quarterly dividend to 9 cents per common share. The dividend will be paid on Dec. 1 to shareholders of record on Nov. 17.
The company also reported third-quarter net earnings of $32.8-million or 84 cents per share versus earnings of $38.5-million or 99 cents for the same quarter a year ago.
Net earnings from continuing operations were 58 cents versus 63 cents a year earlier.
Total revenue came in at $136.6-million up from $118.2-million the year before.
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AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. (AGT-T) reported revenue of $341-million down from $442.3-million for the same quarter a year ago.
Its net loss was $16.1-million or 66 cents per share versus earnings of $7.5-million and 31 cents per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $468.4-million and earnings of 64 cents.
Adjusted EPS was 6 cents versus 50 cents the year before, the company said.
"Markets have been impacted by low prices and by oversupply in our core segment, with India and Turkey working through their own local production before moving to new crop harvested products from Canada and other origins," stated CEO Murad Al-Katib "Our food ingredients and packaged foods segment continued to perform well, accounting for the majority of our third quarter earnings."
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Mainstreet Health Investments Inc. (HLP.UN-T) reported revenue of $17.5-million (U.S.) in the third quarter up from $11-million for the same time a year earlier.
Net income was $4.6-million up from $2.1-million.
Funds from operations per share came in at 24 cents versus 25 cents a year earlier.
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Ensign Energy Services Inc. (ESI-T) reported revenue for the third quarter of $247.1-million, an increase of 29 per cent from $191.3-million in the same quarter last year.
Its net loss was $36.5-million or 23 cents per share compared to a net loss of $33.7-million or 22 cents per share for the third quarter of 2016.
Analysts were expecting revenue of $263.2-million and a loss of 14 cents per share.
Funds flow from operations increased 31 per cent to $39.6-million or 25 cents per share.
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Copper Mountain Mining Corp. (CMMC-T) reported third-quarter revenues of $77.1-million versus $72.2-million a year earlier.
Net income was $25.6-million or 15 cents per share versus a loss of $8-million or 5 cents for the same quarter in 2016.
Analysts were expecting revenue of $76.7-million and earnings of 3 cents.
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Héroux-Devtek Inc. (HRX-T) reported second-quarter sales of $89.7-million, versus $91.6-million in the previous year.
Net income was $3.2-million or 9 cents versus $9.5-million or 26 cents last year.
Adjusted earnings came in at 11 cents per share versus 16 cents last year.
Analysts were expecting revenue of $87.6-million and adjusted earnings of 12 cents.
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Emblem Corp. (EMC-X) says it has been granted a license to sell cannabis oils.
"Securing this license is an important milestone of our strategy to provide high quality, differentiated cannabis products, in a variety of formats," stated John Stewart, president of Emblem's pharmaceutical division.
"We are very excited with the prospects this license brings, as we continue our clinical R&D initiatives towards unique cannabinoid delivery formulations, which we intend to introduce to the market in the future."
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Hydrogenics Corp. (HYGX-Q; HYG-T) said its third-quarter revenue rose 81 per cent to $12.2-million (U.S.) compared to $6.7-million in the prior-year period, "reflecting a significant increase in deliveries of fuel cell mobility modules to China as well as increased sales revenue in the balance of the power systems segment and in the OnSite generation segment."
Its net loss was $2-million or 13 cents per share versus a loss of $1.9-million or 15 cents a year ago.
Analysts were expecting a loss of 12 cents per share and revenue of $12.6-million.
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