oil pumpjack
Inside the Market's roundup of some of the Canadian small caps making news and on the move today. This post will be updated throughout the morning
Trilogy Energy Corp. said it was doing away with its dividend after its December payment as it looks to preserve cash flow following the steep decline in the price of oil. The company expects production in 2015 to be broadly similar to levels seen in 2014 as it reduces capital expenditures by close to 40 per cent. Management also announced plans to buy back nearly 6.5-million shares over the next year.
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Vermilion Energy Inc. said it would cut its capital spending to $525-million in 2015, down by $150-million from 2014 projections.
"In light of the decrease in crude oil prices since mid-2014, we have reduced our 2015 capital investment plans to ensure the continued strength of our balance sheet and the sustainability of our dividend, should weak oil prices prevail over a protracted period. Should commodity prices weaken significantly, we have the flexibility to make further reductions in our capital program."
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OceanaGold Corp. said it would spend $100-million on capital and exploration across its operations in 2015, cutting expenditure in New Zealand to $33-million. "The reduction is a direct result of lower sustaining and capitalised mining costs at Macraes, and at Reefton where the operation will transition into care and maintenance by the end of the year," the company said in a statement.
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As the price of crude oil continues to plunge, Precision Drilling Corp. says it plans to idle rig-building activity once it has completed delivery of 16 previously announced rigs. Calgary-based Precision also said on Monday its capital spending for 2015 will drop to $493-million from about $885-million in 2014.
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Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. said it was "embarking upon further sustainable cost-cutting measures that we anticipate will continue to improve the company's unit cost metrics to allow us to remain profitable and free cash flowing in a challenging gold price environment. We will restructure our personnel remuneration and incentive approach to ensure that internal goals are aligned with the company's overall objectives and that we are competitive with our peers."
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NWT Uranium Corp. said its shares will be suspended from trading until the TSX Venture Exchange completes a review "to determine the involvement of certain officers and directors" in its decision to undertake "a change of business from a mining issuer to an investment issuer without receiving the prior approval of the exchange."
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Norbord Inc. and Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. said Norbord will acquire Ainsworth in an all-stock transaction "to create a leading global wood products company focused on oriented strand board across North America, Europe and Asia."
Ainsworth shareholders will receive 0.1321 of a Norbord share for each Ainsworth share. Upon completion of the transaction, Norbord shareholders will own approximately 63 per cent and Ainsworth shareholders will own approximately 37 per cent of the combined company. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and related entities will control about 53 per cent of the combined company. They currently control 55 per cent and 52 per cent of the outstanding common shares of Ainsworth and Norbord, respectively.
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Temex Resources Corp. said it signed an agreement to acquire six mining claims in northeast Ontario from a subsidiary of Excellon Resources in exchange for 750,000 common shares, which have yet to be issued, and a 1 per cent net smelter returns royalty. Temex reserves the right to reduce this royalty by half with a payment of $500,000 to Silver Eagle, the subsidiary of Excellon.
"The Byberg purchase further consolidates our dominant landholdings in this emerging gold district. It is a strategic property, located proximal to the Tyrrell Structural Zone and adjacent to our Big Dome and Hydro Creek gold zones with high grade gold intercepts in drill core providing direct evidence of enriched gold systems in this area of the Juby Project. Furthermore, the acquisition immediately adds excellent exploration potential for near surface gold discoveries as our exploration team has already defined a major new gold trend over several kilometres, and projected to cross the southern half of Byberg, and which has yet to see a drill bit."
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iFabric Corp. said that one of its subsidiaries entered into a strategic partnership with Delos Merchandising LLC to distribute certain packages of iFabric's products and technologies to customers in the hospitality and retail sectors.
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Pyrogenesis Canada Inc. said it received $800,000 from a consortium of military clients to proceed with the final phase of a mobile system to destroy chemical weapons without generating any toxic byproducts. The company expects to complete this system in the first half of 2015, at which point it will be delivered to clients for testing. "Although we are not privy to the timing of commercial orders, or the number of units that may be ordered upon successful testing, we are lead to believe that given the nature of the project and the funds being allocated to testing, there is an immediate need for multiple systems," said chief executive officer P. Peter Pascali.
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TAG Oil Ltd. said it plans to buy back 5.9 million shares of common stock from Dec. 10, 2014, to Dec. 9, 2015. Management claims the current share price does not adequately reflect the company's value and that repurchasing shares would benefit the firm and its shareholders.
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Relentless Resources Ltd. said it is conducting a private placement for up to $2-million in common and flow-through shares. The company indicated that the proceeds will be used to fund its capital expenditures for the coming year and that some of the subscribers to this offering may be officers or directors of the firm.
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