Business

Oil price jumps 8% as OPEC announces surprise million-barrel production cut

Published

2 years ago

April 3, 2023

Oil prices surged on Monday after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ producers announced a surprise cut in the amount of crude they plan to pump out every month.

The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate surged eight per cent to as high as $80.67 a barrel on news that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would aim to cut output by around 1.16 million barrels per day.

Russian energy spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move was designed to “keep crude oil and petroleum product prices at a certain level.” Officially, Russia is not a member of Saudi-led OPEC, but has been loosely co-operating with the cartel in recent years, a partnership that has been dubbed OPEC+.

Goldman Sachs lifted its forecast for the European oil benchmark known as Brent to $95 US a barrel by the end of the year and to $100 for 2024 following the OPEC news, which was announced on Sunday, a day before a virtual meeting of officials from OPEC+.

“I think the alliance wants to make sure that [oil] surpluses don’t extend into the second half of 2023, as they know that most of the economic weakness is going to come then,” said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Swiss Bank Lombard Odier.

The oil news rippled through stock markets as shares in U.S. oil giants Chevron and Exxon both jumped up by more than four per cent in pre-market trading.

Bad news for inflation fight

The move by the oil cartel impacted interest rate expectations, as moves to increase the price of oil won’t help central banks around the world, who are trying to bring down inflation.

The OPEC move had “fuelled fears that inflation will prove to be a longer-lasting problem for central banks,” ING FX strategist Francesco Pesole said in a commentary.

Central banks have raised interest rates rapidly in the past year in an effort to bring rampant inflation under control.

“If the output reduction succeeds in pushing global prices higher, global progress in bringing headline inflation measures down could slow, and central banks might be forced to adopt a more hawkish approach,” said Karl Schamotta, a strategist with Corpay in Toronto.

Trading in investments known as swaps, which are bets on which direction central bank rates will go, implied the odds of another rate hike by the U.S. central bank next month are at 60 per cent. On Friday, they were only at 50 per cent.

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Cineplex reports $24.7M Q3 loss on Competition Tribunal penalty

Published

17 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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