Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (WFT-T) announced late Friday that, effective Monday, it will further reduce its SPF production by 30-to-40 million board feet of production per week, which it said represents between 45 and 60 per cent of SPF production. It also said plywood production at the company’s three manufacturing sites will be further adjusted on an ongoing basis.
Also, the company said that, effective April 20, it will take approximately four weeks of downtime at its Cariboo Pulp and Paper joint venture pulp mill resulting in an approximate reduction in NBSK production of 30,000 tonnes of which West Fraser's share is 15,000 tonnes. "The downtime is necessitated by decreased fibre availability as a result of widespread sawmill curtailments in British Columbia and the other effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mill operations and employee," it stated.
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First Majestic Silver Corp. (FR-T) announced that operations at its San Dimas, Santa Elena and La Encantada mines in Mexico will be temporarily suspended in accordance with Mexico’s Ministry of Health’s Decree to mitigate the spread and transmission of COVID-19.
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MTY Food Group Inc. (MTY-T) announced, in response to the impact of the global pandemic on its business, the company has suspended its quarterly dividend that would normally have been paid in May. It has also temporarily laid off over half of its global workforce and said its leadership team has voluntarily reduced its base salaries on a temporary basis.
MTY also said capital and operational spending has been reduced to a minimum.
"Although the disruption is currently expected to be temporary, there is significant uncertainty around the ultimate extent, duration, severity of the pandemic itself and effects on consumer behaviour and other factors associated with or resulting from that pandemic," the company stated. "The impact of the virus and the efforts to contain it affect the business, operations and financial performance of MTY and its franchise network daily. Therefore, as we expect this matter to materially impact the company's results for at least our second and third quarters of 2020, the related financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time."
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NFI Group Inc. (NFI-T) announced it will extend the idling of nearly all bus and coach production facilities “to help ensure the safety of its employees, customers, and suppliers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
While the company said it has essentially idled production of new vehicles, it continues to complete and deliver vehicles that were at various stages of production as well as fulfill aftermarket parts orders and collect outstanding receivables. The company also said it has maintained some staff to ensure it responds to active and new procurements, supports vehicles in service, and completes essential facility maintenance.
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Chorus Aviation Inc. (CHR-T) announced it’s suspending its dividend “until further notice” following as well as its dividend reinvestment program amid the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also said its CEO Joe Randell will forgo 70 per cent of his salary, and members of the executive team will forgo up to 50 per cent of their salary. Board members have also taken a 25-per-cent reduction in fees.
"All areas of the company are under review with the objective of reducing costs to ensure a strong organization that is ready to resume normal operations as soon as this pandemic abates, the company stated, adding that the duration and impact of this crisis are unknown.
“Our industry is facing its worst crisis in history,” stated Mr. Randell in a release. “The world situation is unstable and there are no signs of a near-term recovery. We entered this predicament from our strongest position ever, and it’s devastating to be sending approximately 3,000 employees home, given the successes we’ve achieved together... The rapid and dramatic impact of this pandemic is astounding, and we’re taking all measures to ensure the safety of our employees, mitigate costs, bolster our liquidity and strengthen our relationships with customers. We’re prudently and responsibly managing our financial resources to secure our future and eliminating all discretionary cash outflows thus requiring a suspension of our dividend. These are very difficult decisions, impacting all of our stakeholders, but necessary to ensure we’re ready to emerge from this worldwide crisis as resiliently and quickly as possible.”
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