By Adriano Marchese
Stocks in Toronto were nearly flat at midday Thursday as gains in retail trade, distribution services and health services offset losses mainly in process industries and consumer discretionary stocks. Canopy Growth Corp. shares tumbled throughout the morning after it said it will restructure its Canadian operations, which will include layoffs, amid larger losses and lower profit in its third quarter.
Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index inched forward 0.04% to 20687.26, while the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 was up 0.04% to 1246.20.
Canopy Growth Corp. shares were down nearly 15% at 3.13 Canadian dollars ($2.33) after it said it plans to restructure its business to be asset-light as it seeks to reach positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Its net loss was C$266.7 million, or C$0.54 a share, compared with a loss of C$108.9 million, or C$0.28 a share, a year ago, while net revenue fell 28% to C$101.2 million.
Other market movers:
Thomson Reuters Corp. shares were down 3% at C$153.03 after reporting a swing to profit, but missed analyst expectations, while revenue benefited from growth at its three largest business units, and said it expects a slowing global economy to weigh on revenue growth in 2023.
Shares in Colliers International Group Inc. rose almost 7.6% to C$159.35 after it said it expects revenue and earnings growth to improve in 2023 as conditions that weighed on 2022 are forecast to moderate later in the year.
Cameco Corp. shares were about 5% higher at C$38.61 after reporting a loss in the fourth quarter despite revenue growth, but said it expects global tailwinds in the energy sector to support stronger demand for uranium in the near term.
Sun Life Financial Inc.'s shares rose 1.5% to C$68.43 after the financial services company's fourth-quarter earnings beat expectations, benefiting from increased insurance sales and a strong performance from its U.S. and Canada businesses.
Telus Corp. logged its strongest fourth quarter on record for customer growth, though earnings for the period were squeezed by restructuring and other costs. Shares declined 2.7% to C$27.33.
Precision Drilling Corp. shares dropped nearly 11% to C$86.69 after it reported a swing to a profit in the final quarter of last year, thanks to a more-than-70% jump in revenue as North American drilling activity ramped up.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-09-23 1220ET
