Author: Nelson Bennett

Investors in Canada have flocked from cannabis to energy in recent years, according to the Toronto Stock Exchange’s recent TSX30 list.

The TSX30 ranks the top 30 performing stocks on the exchange, based on both share price appreciation and dividends paid. In total, the 30 top performing companies on this year’s TSX30 generated $210 billion for investors.

There are three B.C. headquartered companies on this year’s list, including Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.B), and two exploration companies that are part to the Lundin Group. — Filo Corp. (TSX:FIL), an exploration company focused on Filo del Sol copper project in Argentina, and International Petroleum Corporation (TSX:IPCO), an oil and gas exploration company focused on assets in Canada, Malaysia and France.

It’s perhaps not surprising to see a B.C.-based oil and gas exploration company on this year’s list, given how energy companies have dominated the TSX30 for the last three years now.

“In terms of energy (companies) we have 11 this year,” said TSX vice president Chris Birkett. “But we also have a number in the energy services. Energy’s been strong for the last three years running.”

More than half of the companies on this year’s list are headquartered in Alberta. It’s worth noting that two of the Alberta-based energy companies on this year’s list — ARC Resources (TSX:ARX) and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ) – are major players in B.C.’s Montney formation. CNRL accounts for 13 per cent of the natural gas and liquids produced in B.C. and ARC accounts for 11 per cent, according to the BC Energy Regulator.

Energy companies have dominated the TSX30 since 2022, Birkett said.

“The three years prior to that, we didn’t actually see any energy companies,” he said.

Two sectors that enjoyed some frothiness a few years ago were cannabis and hydrogen. The bloom has since come off those roses.

Ballard Power (TSX:BLDP) made the TSX30 list in 2019, 2020, and 2021, but has since dropped off. In 2019, there were four cannabis companies on the TSX30. There are none this year.

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Three and a half year years after it raised $100 million in an initial public offering, Vancouver hydrogen fuel cell maker Loop Energy (TSX:LPEN) has sought creditor protection while it attempts to reorganize or arrange a sale of the company and its assets.

Trading of Loop Energy shares were suspended July 18, and the company was set to be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange as of Tuesday, Sept. 3.

According to a notice to creditors by the company’s insolvency trustee, Crowe MacKay and Co., Loop is not in receivership and has not filed for bankruptcy. Rather it filed a notice of intention to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act of Canada.

Under the application, which was granted Aug. 1 by the BC Supreme Court, the company seeks approval of interim financing and “the approval of the proposed sale and investment solicitation process.”

One of the lenders for an interim financing proposal is Chilliwack-based Teralta Hydrogen Solutions, according to BC Supreme Court documents.

Loop Energy was founded more than 20 years ago and specializes in making hydrogen fuel cells. In February 2021, the company went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange with a $100-million initial public offering.

The company debuted at $16.45 per share, but its stock value has continuously dropped ever since its IPO, falling to just $0.04 per share at the time its shares stopped trading.

Last year, the company announced plans to drastically cut staff and shut down a production facility in China, citing “challenging capital market conditions, including significant stock price declines in the hydrogen fuel cell sector since the beginning of the year.”

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