As far as Home Capital Group CEO Yousry Bissada is concerned, the alternative lender is fully in recovery mode after the crisis of confidence that pushed it to the brink last year. “We have turned the corner and expect to grow from here, responsibly, with sustainable risk management practices embedded in our culture,” he said in the company’s earnings release. But the company’s performance in the fourth quarter illustrates how much the crisis cratered Home Capital’s business. Profit sank 39.6 per cent. Mortgage originations plunged 64.1 per cent. Granted, those are year-over-year figures, and the sequential results are showing growth. But the road to recovery is a long one. This morning we’ll take a deeper look at what the future holds for Home Capital.
INDUSTRIALS ON A HOT STREAK
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is riding a four-day winning streak that has seen it recoup 1,032 of the points it shed when it seemed like the sky was falling last week. Futures are pointing to more gains at the start of trading today. And all this with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rising above 2.93 per cent this morning.
LIVE ON LOCATION
BNN's Paige Ellis will be on location today at the Canadian International Autoshow; watch for her show-and-tells with some of the impressive vehicles on display, a look at Porsche’s evolution, and the latest in electric vehicle technology. Before all of that, she has a packaged report on Lamborghini’s new Urus SUV, which can be yours for just $230,000. She also gets a look at Koenigsegg’s US$1.9-million, 458-km/h Agera RS.
OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:
-We’ve got a big deal this morning in the REIT sector. Loblaw-spinoff Choice Properties is buying Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (CREIT) for $3.9 billion.
-It was a quarterly bonanza for the big Canadian gold miners after the bell yesterday. Goldcorp's fourth-quarter production fell and all-in sustaining costs rose. Agnico-Eagle's fourth-quarter AISC came in below its forecast, and it's raising the outlook for production in 2018 and 2019. Barrick warns its gold production this year will fall to a range of 4.5-5.0 million ounces from 5.32M oz last year; AISC are seen rising to US$765-$815/ounce from US$750 in 2017. Barrick, it should be pointed out, has seen its stock lose nearly a third of its value over the last year – far underperforming is peers.
-TransCanada is raising its quarterly dividend 10.4 per cent to 69 cents per share after reporting fourth-quarter adjusted profit that came in ahead of the average analyst estimate. The company is also going ahead with a $2.4-billion expansion of its Nova Gas Trasmission System.
-Bombardier unexpectedly reported a US$0.02 per share profit in the fourth quarter. Notably, its free cash flow in the quarter surged 76 per cent year-over-year to $872 million. CEO Alain Bellemare says he's focused on "flawless execution" this year.
-Cenovus Energy said today it's on track to hit its $1-billion cost-savings target in two years instead of the previous three-year timeline. CEO Alex Pourbaix says he's still got his eye on "driving additional efficiencies." Fourth-quarter production surged 96 per cent thanks to last year's Conoco deal, while adjusted funds flow jumped 62 per cent.
-Airbus shares are surging this morning, climbing almost 10 per cent after the plane maker (and soon-to-be controlling CSeries partner) said adjusted profit could soar 20 per cent this year.
-Aimia is still hunting for a new loyalty partner to fill the void that will be left by Air Canada in 2020. “Aimia continues to engage with various parties as a means to secure new long-term commercial and strategic relationships for the post-2020 period,” it said late yesterday in a quarterly release. Meanwhile, the company swung to an unexpected 11-cent per share loss in the fourth quarter.
NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS
-Notable earnings: Cenovus, Encana, TransCanada, Precision Drilling, Bombardier, Canadian Tire, Shopify, Brookfield Asset Management, Fairfax Financial, Fortis, Lundin Mining, CI Financial, Yamana Gold
-Notable data: StatsCan EI report, U.S. industrial production
-10:30 a.m. ET: Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains announces successful supercluster proposals
-1:45 p.m. ET: Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri delivers speech in Winnipeg (remarks on bank’s site at 1:30 p.m. ET)
-Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Big City Mayors’ Caucus discusses federal budget in meeting with cabinet ministers in Ottawa
Every morning BNN's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe.
Advertisement