Business

Oilpatch leader Mark Little resigns following another death at Suncor site – Financial Post

Published

2 years ago

July 9, 2022

On Thursday, a contractor was killed at Suncor’s oilsands base plant north of Fort McMurray — the second fatality at the site this year

Suncor president and CEO Mark Little prepares to address the company’s annual meeting in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, May 2, 2019. Suncor Energy says Little has stepped down as president and chief executive officer and resigned from the board of directors, effective immediately. Photo by Jeff McIntosh /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Suncor Energy Inc. chief executive officer Mark Little resigned following another death at one of the company’s worksites, sending shockwaves through the Canadian oil and gas sector.

Calgary-based Suncor said after financial markets closed on July 8 that Little’s departure was effective immediately, and that he would be replaced in the interim by Kris Smith, executive vice-president of Suncor’s downstream businesses, including its Petro-Canada gasoline stations.

The news came one day after after a contractor was killed at Suncor’s oilsands base plant north of Fort McMurray — the second fatality at the site this year and the latest incident in a string of workplace injuries and fatalities at Canada’s largest integrated oil company.

Little had held the role for just three years.

Suncor’s safety problems and recent sector-trailing performance attracted a public reproach from U.S. activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP in April. Elliott criticized the company’s safety record and called on Suncor to add new directors and conduct a review of management and assets.

The company had been in the midst of preparing for a presentation next week on the company’s plan to improve safety and performance at oilsands operations when the latest fatality occurred.

The presentation was hastily cancelled and speculation began to spread that Little would resign.

“They clearly were going into next week expecting to highlight addressing safety issues and operational issues and to talk about how (they’re) addressing them and what’s changed — now that this event happened, there’s no way that they could defend anything that they were going to say,” said Phil Skolnick, an analyst at VIII Capital Corp.

“It’s not like cutting a dividend. It’s not like having multiple operational issues where you’re constantly missing guidance. This is way different. This is all about people, which brings it to a different level.”

Thirteen employees or contractors have died in accidents at Suncor sites since 2014.

“Suncor is committed to achieving safety and operational excellence across our business, and we must acknowledge where we have fallen short and recognize the critical need for change,” board chair Michael Wilson said in a statement. “We commend Mark for his professionalism and the exceptional work he did to guide Suncor through the pandemic and lead our sector’s progressive approach to the energy transition. We thank him for his years of service with the company and wish him well.”

The abrupt resignation of Suncor’s leader mars what was starting to look like a turnaround.

In June, RBC Capital Markets analyst Greg Pardy upgraded Suncor’s stock to “outperform” from “sector perform” and hiked the price targets, suggesting that meetings with management had left them encouraged that the company had a tighter grip on the steps required to regain its status as a best-in-class operator.

mpotkins@postmedia.com Twitter: @mpotkins

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Cineplex reports $24.7M Q3 loss on Competition Tribunal penalty

Published

23 hours ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Cineplex Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago as it was hit by a fine for deceptive marketing practices imposed by the Competition Tribunal.

The movie theatre company says it lost $24.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $29.7 million or 40 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

The results in the most recent quarter included a $39.2-million provision related to the Competition Tribunal decision, which Cineplex is appealing.

The Competition Bureau accused the company of misleading theatregoers by not immediately presenting them with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online, a view the company has rejected.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $395.6 million, down from $414.5 million in the same quarter last year, while theatre attendance totalled 13.3 million for the quarter compared with nearly 15.7 million a year earlier.

Box office revenue per patron in the quarter climbed to $13.19 compared with $12 in the same quarter last year, while concession revenue per patron amounted to $9.85, up from $8.44 a year ago.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CGX)

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Restaurant Brands reports US$357M Q3 net income, down from US$364M a year ago

Published

2 days ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.

Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR)

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Electric and gas utility Fortis reports $420M Q3 profit, up from $394M a year ago

Published

2 days ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.

The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.

Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.

Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:FTS)

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