TORONTO —
Tim Hortons China is planning to go public in a deal that could rapidly speed up the chain’s roll out in the growing coffee market, with plans to open more than 2,500 new locations in five years, according to an investor presentation.
Restaurant Brands International confirmed Monday that its joint venture with private equity firm Cartesian Capital Group, which includes Tencent and Sequoia Capital as major shareholders, has entered into a business combination agreement with Silver Crest Acquisition Corp. The joint venture, officially named TH International Ltd. but often branded Tim Hortons China, opened the first Tim Hortons in China in Shanghai in 2019.
Restaurant Brands said the deal with Silver Crest, a special purpose acquisition company, would see TH International traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pegged the implied value of Tim Hortons China at US$1.69 billion, with the expected value of the new combined entity when it starts trading at above US$2 billion.
Under the deal, Tim Hortons would bring its store count in China to more than 2,750 by 2026, according to documents.
That’s much more ambitious than previously announced plans. In 2018, Restaurant Brands said its partnership with Cartesian Capital would see more than 1,500 Tim Hortons restaurants in China in 10 years.
An investor presentation by Tim Hortons China included in regulatory filings said the company plans to nearly double its footprint from its current store count of 199 to 388 locations by the end of 2021.
The coffee and doughnut chain would continue to expand at a rapid rate, with 733 locations by the end of 2022, 1,163 by the end of 2023, 1,678 by the end of 2024, 2,203 by the end of 2,025 and 2,753 by year end 2026, according to the presentation.
“We will have nearly 400 units by the end of this year, opening one every 36 hours,” said Tim Hortons China chief executive officer Yongchen Lu, according to a transcript of the company’s investor presentation video filed with the SEC.
The restaurants would be a mix of flagship stores, classic stores and “Tims Go” locations, the documents said.
Meanwhile, the regulatory filings also offer a glimpse into how the brand — launched by a Canadian hockey player in the 1960s — performs in China.
The coffee and doughnut chain reported strong same-store sales growth of 42.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, the presentation said.
Still, the Tim Hortons menu has been tweaked to appeal to the preferences of the local market.
Tim Hortons China Chief Consumer Officer Bin He referred to the menu as “innovative classical products.”
“Timbits were changed to mochi holes, given original doughnut holes did not sell well in China,” He said in the investor presentation. “This face change makes Timbits an easier bite to reward myself in the afternoon and share with co-workers.”
Restaurant Brands said the proposed merger, which still requires regulatory approval, will position Tim Hortons to benefit from China’s increasing coffee consumption.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2021.
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.
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.
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.
