Author: TSX Stocks

Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – May 3, 2024) – Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. (TSXV: SPA) (FSE: S3Y) (the “Company” or “Spanish Mountain Gold“) is pleased to announce the listing and trading of its common shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (“FSE”) under the symbol “S3Y”.

Peter Mah, Spanish Mountain Gold’s President, CEO and Director comments, “We are pleased to announce the trading of our shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This an important component of the Company’s strategy towards increasing its global visibility and liquidity with improved accessibility for European investors.”

About the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the world’s largest international trading centres for securities with traditionally active investment in junior gold stocks. Deutsche Börse AG operates the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, an entity under public law, and ensures the functioning of exchange trading.

More information at https://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/en.

About Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd.
Spanish Mountain Gold is advancing its 100% owned Spanish Mountain Gold project towards construction of the next gold mine in the Cariboo Gold Corridor, British Columbia. Our immediate focus is to conduct an integrated Whittle Enterprise Optimization to identify the highest potential value-add improvements while increasing the understanding of the high-grade geologic controls and associated drill targets that could upgrade and expand the gold resource. We are striving to be a leader in community and indigenous relations by leveraging technology and innovation to build the ‘greenest’ gold mine in Canada. The Relentless Pursuit for Better Gold means seeking new ways to achieve optimal financial outcomes that are safer, minimizes environmental impacts and creates meaningful sustainability for communities. Details on the Company are available on www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company’s website: www.spanishmountaingold.com.

On Behalf of the Board,
“Peter Mah”
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd.

For more information, contact:
Investor Relations, Peter Mah
(604) 601-3651
info@spanishmountaingold.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
Certain of the statements and information in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” Any statements or information that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “plans”, “estimates”, “intends”, “targets”, “goals”, “forecasts”, “objectives”, “potential” or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements or information. The Company’s forward-looking statements and information are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release, and other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements and information if circumstances or management’s assumptions, beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, or changes in any other events affecting such statements or information. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements and information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/208033

TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.

National Bank analyst Gabriel Dechaine said in a note that the worst-case scenario of the multiple U.S. investigations TD faces needs reassessing after the Wall Street Journal reported the link on Thursday.

The newspaper said the U.S. Justice Department investigation is focused on how Chinese drug traffickers allegedly used TD to launder at least US$653 million, and bribed TD employees to do so.

TD did not comment directly on the report, but said its anti-money laundering defences had been deficient.

“Criminals constantly seek to use banks to launder money. Regrettably, our U.S. (anti-money laundering) program did not effectively thwart these activities. This is unacceptable, and we must and we will do better,” said spokeswoman Elizabeth Goldenshtein in a statement.

She said the bank continues to co-operate with law enforcement and regulators, and that a comprehensive effort is underway to strengthen its anti-money laundering program.

Dechaine said the severity of the allegations means TD could not only face fines well above the $500 million to $1 billion that many investors have anticipated, but also more severe regulator-imposed limitations on its business activities.

“We believe investors need to put greater weight on worst-case scenarios for the stock,” he said in a note.

The cumulative fines could easily hit $2 billion, while regulators could put in place restrictions, including limits on its balance sheet growth, that could affect bank operations for years, said Dechaine.

In a worst-case scenario, the issue could erode TD’s future earnings potential by more than $1 billion, he said, and he has dropped his price target for the bank’s TSX-listed shares by almost nine per cent to $84. 

The link to drug trafficking comes the same week TD announced it had taken an initial provision of US$450 million in connection to the ongoing U.S. regulatory inquiry into its anti-money laundering compliance program.

The bank said on Tuesday its discussions with three U.S. regulators and the Department of Justice are ongoing, and it anticipates additional financial penalties.

Separately, Canada’s financial-crime watchdog Fintrac levied a $9.2-million penalty against the bank on Thursday for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures.

TD Bank’s stock price was down more than four per cent in midday trading Friday to $75.85 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Primaris REIT (PMZ.UN-T) is coming off a strong first quarter and has significantly increased its war chest for further shopping centre acquisitions, its CEO said during the trust’s May 2 quarterly investors and analysts call.  

The REIT’s net income rose by $10.3 million from a year earlier to reach $45.88 million in its first quarter ended March 31, one in which positives outweighed negatives.

Primaris is Canada’s only enclosed shopping centre-focused real estate investment trust and the country’s largest owner of enclosed malls by property count.

“The acquisitions completed in 2023, our larger national footprint and high asset quality continues to increase our relevance with both existing tenants and new and exciting new-to-market retailers,” chief executive officer Alex Avery said during a May 2 conference call to review the trust’s financial and operational performance.

“We have robust liquidity and are finding lots of attractive opportunities. We have capacity for more than $1.5 billion of acquisitions and require no financing conditions in our deals. 

“This profile as a well-capitalized and credible counter-party in the market is a real differentiator in what is a currently challenging transaction market for many participants.”

First quarter highlights

In comparison to the first quarter of 2023, Primaris saw:

• its investment portfolio rise to 39 properties from 35;
• gross leasable area increase to 12.5 million square feet from 10.9 million;
• in-place occupancy improve to 92 per cent from 90.6 per cent;
• committed occupancy rise to 94.1 per cent from 91.3 per cent;
• weighted average net rent per occupied square foot increase to $25.10 from $24.30;
• same-property cash net operating income growth of two per cent;
• and same-store sales productivity per square foot jump to $628 from $607. The sales number increases to $677 with the inclusion of the REIT’s two major 2023 acquisitions, Conestoga Mall in Waterloo, Ont., and Halifax Shopping Centre.

Primaris was spun off from H&R REIT through a non-taxable distribution of units on Dec. 31, 2021. Concurrently, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) contributed six large-format shopping centres in exchange for approximately 26 per cent of Primaris’ units.

Primaris’ total assets were valued at $3.93 billion and unencumbered assets at $3.3 billion in the first quarter. Total assets were valued at $3.28 billion and unencumbered assets at $2.71 billion a year earlier. 

Total available liquidity rose to $684.33 million from $468.3 million during the same period 12 months earlier. The total-debt-to-total-assets ratio was 38.9 per cent compared to 33.5 per cent during the first three months of 2023.

Steady leasing activity

Primaris completed 149 leasing deals totalling about 500,000 square feet in the first quarter and the tenant renewal rate was 82.3 per cent. There were 26 lease deals with new tenants covering 150,700 square feet.

President and chief operating officer Pat Sullivan said Primaris is in advanced negotiations with a number of large-format tenants and he anticipates those deals closing over the next two quarters.

Primaris has 883,000 square feet of 2024 expiring leases remaining to deal with and Sullivan claims to have no concerns about completing those negotiations.

“Our leasing and operations teams work diligently to identify new brands that would complement and enhance our tenant mix, while proactively working to reduce exposure to those tenants that are losing relevance with the consumer,” Sullivan said.

Rent growth

There was a 7.4 per cent weighted average spread on renewing rents across 277,000 square feet. Primaris typically pushes for two per cent annual increases in its leases, but it varies depending on the tenant, according to Sullivan.

The macro environment for malls — including a declining supply of retail gross leasable area, population growth, rising tenant sales and increasing tenant demand for space — creates a significant opportunity to drive rent growth and higher occupancy to quality tenants with the ability to pay increasing rents over time, Sullivan explained.

“The financial health of tenants continues to be quite favourable and the dialogue with tenants looking for new expansion opportunities remains robust.”

The $54-million redevelopment of the former Sears store at Halifax Shopping Centre was completed last year. A 56,200-square-foot Simons, a 38,500-square-foot Winners, a 13,000-square-foot Dollarama and a 15,000-square-foot PetSmart opened in the space during the first quarter of this year.

Garden City Square and other dispositions

Primaris entered into an agreement to sell Garden City Square — an open-air, non-grocery-anchored retail property in Winnipeg — for $31 million during the quarter. The deal is expected to close on May 23.

“This is our first non-core, income-producing property disposition entered into since the spin-off and aligns with our strategy to focus on a growing high-quality portfolio of market-leading enclosed shopping centres in Canada,” Avery said. “This disposition improves our overall portfolio quality and growth profile and further demonstrates Primaris’ ability to transact. We are currently engaged in discussions with prospective purchasers for further dispositions. 

“Our capital recycling program is a key pillar supporting our profile as a buyer of market-leading malls and positions us well to capitalize on future opportunities.”

The majority of assets for sale are smaller, unenclosed retail properties, but an industrial building and land parcels are also available. The assets, including Garden City Square, are valued at $124 million.

Primaris continues to buy back units

Primaris’ net asset value per unit was $21.86 at the end of the first quarter while its unit price closed at $13.49 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 2. Its 52-week low price is $12.11 while the 52-week high price is $14.24. The REIT has a market cap of $1.3 billion.

Primaris has continually been repurchasing units since March 2022 because they’ve been trading at a significant discount to net asset value.

“We are very comfortable in continuing to buy back units,” Avery said.

Canada’s largest oil and gas producer Canadian Natural Resources is looking at opportunities to significantly increase bitumen output at its main oil sands mine, the company said on Thursday.

President Scott Stauth said the company is considering a 195 000 barrel-a-day (b/d) expansion at its Horizon mining and upgrading plant in northern Alberta through new extraction and treatment processes. Previously the company said it could add 75 000 b/d of bitumen, but Stauth said Canadian Natural had been able to enhance engineering and scale up the processes.

Horizon currently has capacity to produce about 255 000 b/d of synthetic crude oil made from bitumen.

Stauth said the expansion would depend upon new pipeline export capacity as well as government financial support for a carbon capture and storage project proposed by the Pathways Alliance group, which Canadian Natural is part of.

“That fiscal policy is absolutely key for us to be able to move any additional expansion volumes forward,” Stauth said on an earnings call. “Also important in terms of that would be securing and working on enhancing egress capacity.”

In its earnings release, Canadian Natural said it will benefit from the start-up of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion, in which it can move 94 000 bb/d.

The company also increased its shipping commitment on the Flanagan South pipeline to the US Gulf Coast in the first quarter, to 77 500 b/d from 22 500 b/d.

Canadian Natural missed analysts’ estimates for first-quarter profit, hurt by lower-than-expected production and a drop in natural gas and synthetic crude oil prices.

The firm posted an adjusted profit of C$1.37 a share, below analysts’ average estimates of C$1.48 a share, according to LSEG data. Net earnings were C$987-million compared with C$1.8-billion for the first quarter of 2023.

The Calgary-based company produced 1.33-million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the first quarter, slightly higher than the same period last year but lower than analysts’ expectations of 1.35 million boepd.

Oil sands mining production fell 3% from year-ago levels to 445209 bb/ld, due to planned and unplanned maintenance.

The company’s realized natural gas price fell 40% to C$2.55 per thousand cubic feet on average for the quarter from a year earlier, amid a slump in North American gas markets due to record production and low heating demand during a mild winter.

In oil sands mining, synthetic crude oil prices decreased nearly 8% to an average C$88.84/bl.

Canadian Natural said it will shift some drilling activity away from dry gas wells and towards heavy oil, and plans to ramp up activity in the second half of the year when it anticipates stronger pricing.

Canadian Natural shares were last down 0.3% at C$102.80 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.