Recent statements by the CEO of a major oilsands company further the case for federal regulations to cap greenhouse-gas emissions in the oil and gas sector, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Guilbeault called the Aug. 15 comments by Suncor CEO Rich Kruger “disappointing,” particularly in the middle of a summer when “tens of thousands of Canadians” were forced to flee wildfires and global temperatures hit record highs in July.
“To see the leader of a great Canadian company say that he is basically disengaging from climate change and sustainability, that he’s going to focus on short-term profit, it’s all the wrong answers,” Guilbeault said.
“If I was convinced before that we needed to do regulation, I am even more convinced now.”
This fall, Guilbeault intends to publish draft regulations to cap emissions from oil and gas production and then force them downward over time. Oil and gas contributed 28 per cent of Canada’s total emissions in 2021, and the oilsands alone account for 13 per cent.
Suncor contributed 17.4 million tonnes, or 2.5 per cent of the national total. Suncor’s emissions in 2021 were 50 per cent higher than they were in 2011. Canada’s total emissions have fallen six per cent compared with 10 years ago.
Guilbeault hasn’t yet said exactly what the first cap will be, but the Emissions Reduction Plan published in 2022 included a cut of more than 40 per cent to oil and gas emissions by 2030.
Kruger, who only took over as Suncor CEO in April, told investors during Suncor’s second-quarter results conference call that the company had a “disproportionate” focus on the longer-term energy transition to low-emitting and renewable fuels.
“Where we stand is we judge that our current strategic framework … is insufficient in terms of what it takes to win,” he said, according to a transcript of the call posted on the company’s website.
That included, he said, a “lack of emphasis on today’s business drivers.”
“Today, we win by creating value through our large integrated asset base underpinned by oilsands,” he said.
He promised a “revised direction and tone” focused more on the immediate financial opportunities in the oilsands.
Rich Kruger, chief executive of Suncor Energy, said earlier this month that he sees the company succeeding by creating value through its “large integrated asset base underpinned by oilsands.” (Kyle Bakx/CBC)
In that same call, Suncor reported second-quarter earnings of $1.9 billion, down from $4 billion in the second quarter of 2022, when oil prices soared following Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.
Kruger said the company remained committed to the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of six oilsands companies working together to install carbon-capture technology and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Net-zero is the term used to describe a situation where any remaining greenhouse-gas emissions produced are captured by technology or nature. Carbon capture is an emerging technology that traps emissions and funnels them back underground.
Pathways executives have long said that they want to contribute to Canada’s climate targets, but that the federal timeline for cutting their emissions was unrealistic.
Both Suncor and Pathways have been approached for comment for this story.
Kruger’s comments come almost a year after his company announced it would sell off its wind and solar power assets, ending its two-decade long foray into the renewable energy business. Earlier this year, Suncor expanded its oilsands operations when it bought the Fort Hills oilsands mine from Teck Resources and TotalEnergies.
Guilbeault said the federal government isn’t asking the oil and gas sector to do more than its fair share, and is not singling it out. He noted zero-emission vehicle regulations being finalized now require one in five new vehicles sold to be electric by 2026, and bar the sale of new combustion engine cars and trucks in 2035.
Draft regulations to eliminate emissions from Canada’s electricity sector were published earlier in August and are still in the comment period.
The oil and gas cap regulations were expected already, but Guilbeault acknowledged they have been delayed.
“It is a complex piece of regulation,” he said.
But the minister said they are coming, and industry has to do its part.
“I don’t think in 2023 you can be a good corporate citizen and not play your role,” he said.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
