Business

Alberta moves to force oilpatch to pay owed taxes above ‘threshold’ amount

Published

2 years ago

March 20, 2023

EDMONTON — The Alberta government is taking steps to force oilpatch companies to make good on their unpaid municipal taxes, including sending reminders from provincial cabinet ministers to those in arrears.

“Our goal is to reduce unpaid taxes throughout the province,” Energy Minister Peter Guthrie said in a release.

Earlier this month, Rural Municipalities Alberta released figures showing that energy firms owed $268 million in back taxes in 2022, a figure that is up more than six per cent from 2021.

The pace of nonpayment has also increased. There was $53 million left unpaid last year, up $15 million from the previous year.

In addition, the organization said its members have written off another $150 million in unpaid taxes as unrecoverable.

On Monday, Guthrie said he’s issued an order that blocks companies from acquiring or transferring licences on wells or other assets if their unpaid taxes exceed a threshold amount. That threshold is yet to be determined and is to be set by the Alberta Energy Regulator and Alberta Municipal Affairs.

Alberta Energy and Alberta Municipal Affairs said in a release that once the threshold has been established, companies that don’t meet it will be targeted for collection.

“This problem has lingered for far too long, and while some viable companies have started to pay their back taxes, others are still not getting the message,” said Municipal Affairs Minister Rebecca Schulz.

Paul McLauchlin, president of Rural Municipalities Alberta, said the move could solve up to 80 per cent of the problem.

“I would definitely give the program an A,” he said.

McLauchlin acknowledged that setting a threshold instead of requiring companies to simply pay what’s owed is a compromise. Despite recent high oil prices, McLauchlin said many energy companies are struggling to survive.

“We’ve got some fundamental realities in this industry — excessive liabilities and low asset values. We understand the struggles folks are in.”

McLauchlin said Monday’s announcement at least sets out some guidelines and best practices for making good on unpaid taxes.

He added that both Guthrie and Schulz have said they will personally communicate with the heads of non-paying companies to tell them it’s time to settle up.

“(Companies) are getting extreme pressure to correct their books,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2023.

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

Business

TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

Published

20 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

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

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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Business

BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

Published

20 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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Business

Canada Goose reports Q2 revenue down from year ago, trims full-year guidance

Published

20 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.

The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.

Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.

It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GOOS)

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