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.
San Gold Corp. said it has filed notice of intention to make a proposal under part III, division I of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada), after "extensively exploring restructuring and refinancing alternatives following thorough consultation with its legal and financial advisors and its principal secured lender."
This is the first stage of a restructuring process that "provides an opportunity for San Gold to restructure its operations and may allow creditors to receive some form of compensation for amounts owed to them by San Gold," the company said.
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Parkland Fuel Corp. cut its 2015 earnings guidance, citing delays in closing its acquisition of assets of Pioneer Energy.
"Since the acquisition is unlikely to close by the end of 2014, Parkland announces that its 2015 guidance of $235-million to $265-million in EBITDA will be reduced due to this delayed closing. Parkland's 2015 guidance will be updated once the consents and approvals have been obtained, and the anticipated closing date for the acquisition is determined. Parkland does not expect the annualized EBITDA of the acquisition of approximately $55-million to be affected by this delayed closing," the company said in a statement.
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Lucara Diamond Corp. said that after an "extensive financial and economic review," it intends to sell its Mothae asset and record "a non-cash impairment of the book value for the Mothae asset in its year-end accounts. Current book value and estimated rehabilitation provision costs total approximately $21-million."
"The company has considered multiple development options for Mothae, and while the resource has been proven to be diamondiferous, Mothae does not meet the company's disciplined investment criteria for its targeted return on capital and its forecast generation of long term free cash flow potential."
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Northern Blizzard Resources Inc. cut its capital spending for 2015 by 40 per cent from $215-million to $130-million, which it said should support estimated 2015 production of 23,000 boe/d and the monthly dividend of $0.08 per share.
"Northern Blizzard is committed to a sustainable long-term strategy that supports per share growth and an attractive dividend. To achieve this goal in the current commodity price environment, the company has reduced its 2015 drilling program from 189 to 74 wells, which accounts for the majority of the change in the capital program. Capital spending for the first half of 2015 is budgeted to be less than $50-million and, when combined with the company's hedge program, will enable Northern Blizzard to enter the second half of 2015 in a strong financial position," the company said in a statement.
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Horizon North Logistics Inc. said its quarterly dividend appears to be safe and in 2015, it will focus on "controlling costs, improving project execution and on capital discipline."
"Horizon expects that its results for Q4 2014 will be in line with its previously provided guidance, generating EBITDAS levels similar to Q3 2014 results. Horizon anticipates a challenging operating environment for 2015 and has updated its earnings and cash flow expectations accordingly. Based on contracts currently in place, anticipated contract renewals and other highly probable activity, Horizon anticipates that EBITDAS levels for 2015 will be similar to 2014 results."
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Crown Point Energy Inc. accused dissident shareholder LAIG Oil Investments of making "misleading comments" regarding Crown Point and its "transformative equity financing" with two strategic Argentinian investors.
"Our strategic financing is a transformative move for Crown Point that we have been working on since March," said Crown Point chairman Gordon Kettleson in a statement. "The strategic financing is superior in all respects to an opportunistic, coercive and highly dilutive financing proposed by LAIG. We believe LAIG is misrepresenting the facts about this financing and is pursuing this costly proxy contest to facilitate its opportunistic play for control of the company."
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Monument Mining Limited said it and Gascoyne Resources Limited have mutually agreed to terminate a previously announced proposed acquisition transaction "due to the fact that certain conditions precedent to the completion of the transaction have not been met."
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Touchstone Exploration Inc. has signed a six-year exploration and production license for the East Brighton Block in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The licensed area is a contiguous block directly adjacent to the Brighton Marine field which has produced approximately 60 million barrels of oil to date. The company holds a 24.5% non-operated working interest in the block.
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Granite Real Estate Investment Trust said it has agreed to purchase three properties from subsidiaries of Ingram Micro Inc. for a total of $68.75-million (U.S.). The investment will be funded with Granite's line of credit and cash on hand.
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EXO U Inc. said it has entered into its first contract in Europe that will see the company deploy its educational software at the Institute of Economics and Management. The revenues that this ten-year contract will generate for the firm were not disclosed. "We have identified eastern Europe as one of our target markets and we anticipate that this will help us to build momentum for other opportunities in the region, where we have been very active," said president and chief executive officer Shan Ahdoot.
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CWC Energy Services Corp. set its 2015 capital budget at $14.6-million, a substantial decline from its 2014 capital budget of $45.6-million. Due to the "current volatility and uncertainty in the oil price environment," management is also embarking upon a dividend reinvestment plan and stock dividend program that will see the company issue shares at a modest discount to the average market price to investors who choose to participate in these initiatives rather than receive a cash dividend. The firm's two largest shareholders, Brookfield Capital Partners Ltd. and Brookfield Private Equity Direct Investments Holdings LP, have signalled that they will participate in these programs.