REGIONAL insurer Sagicor Financial Corporation, which has thousands of Trinidad and Tobago customers and shareholders, on Friday declared US$41.6 million in net income for the three months ended March 31, 2021, after recording a net income loss of US$25.1 million for the same quarter in 2020.

The regional financial services company, which is headquartered in Barbados, reported US$431.4 million in total net revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2021, which was 25.7 per cent higher than for the same period in 2020.

The company’s total benefits were up by 25.8 per cent to US$255.4 million in 2021 from US$202.9 million in 2020.

Sagicor’s total expenses amounted to US$136.6 million, a decline of 10.6 per cent in 2021 from the US$152.8 million in 2020.

Sagicor said the main contributing factor to the financial performance during the three-month period was strong net investment income, including net gains from SFC’s direct investment in Playa Hotels and Resorts, which contributed US$26 million of net income to shareholders. As of Q1 2021, Playa is accounted for as an investment held at fair value through profit and loss and is no longer accounted for as an associate.

Commenting on Sagicor’s first-quarter performance, Dodridge Miller, the company’s president and CEO, said: “We are pleased with the performance of our company this quarter. We delivered meaningful revenue growth and strong net income to shareholders. Our results were positively impacted by strategic investments that supported the growth across all our main operating segments.

“The results from our first quarter reflect continued normalisation of our operations in our markets. While the global pandemic continues to affect lives around the world, and in particular several source countries of visitors to the Caribbean with uncertain resolution, we have pivoted well to working remotely where required, and remained nimble enough to make solid investments and take advantage of the recovery in the capital markets.

“After quarter end, we took advantage of favourable market conditions and were able to refinance our top company bonds with interest rate savings of over 3.5 per cent. The new notes have the overall effect of significantly lowering our cost of capital and providing us with additional liquidity for growth. Our capital position remains strong and we are well positioned to progress our strategic initiatives.”

Sagicor raised US$400 million of 5.300 per cent senior notes due May 13, 2028 last week.

The company said it would use part of the proceeds from the transaction to repurchase US$130 million aggregate principal amount of its 8.875 per cent senior notes due 2022 issued by its subsidiary Sagicor Finance (2015) Ltd.

Sagicor also intends to repurchase the remaining US$188 million of 2022 notes later this year using part of the proceeds. Sagicor expects to retain approximately US$70 million of net cash proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes.

Sagicor was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in December 2019. Its shares were delisted from the T&T Stock Exchange as at close of business on April 19.

The stock was delisted from the Barbados and London stock exchanges previously.

MONTREAL – After more than doubling its size over the past five years, CGI Group expects to pursue new ways to leverage its acquisition of U.K.-based information technology provider Logica and expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Montreal-based company will conduct planning sessions in June to map out its goals for the coming three years, but CEO Michael Roach said Wednesday that Asia will likely be a focus for expansion.

“Our immediate focus in 2013 is the integration of Logica, but I think you can expect coming out of that planning session that we’ll continue to execute our build and buy strategy,” Roach said following CGI’s annual shareholder meeting.

CGI (TSX:GIB.A) has historically looked closely at acquisitions after understanding the players in a certain market from within, he said in an interview.

Logica’s purchase last year has not only dramatically boosted CGI’s revenues, but also provided a strategic business unit that’s a leader in the Asia-Pacific.

“In the longer term…Asia-Pacific is an area that would likely see more expansion in the future,” Roach said.

“I think we will be looking to be more focused on niche areas where we want to build out more scale in a particular geography or adding intellectual property or capabilities that our clients are looking for.”

Before the $2.7 billion deal that closed in August, CGI and Logica each relied on their home markets in North America and Europe respectively for 95 per cent of their business. Together, they have started to expand the relationship with clients in both geographies that operate internationally.

“We can follow them around the world now, which we couldn’t before,” Roach said, adding CGI retains the financial flexibility to fund an acquisition despite its heavy debt load — $2.96 billion, even after it was trimmed by $340 million.

He said the IT industry is consolidating very quickly as customers seek providers like CGI that can service their computer and communications infrastructure.

Earlier, Roach told analysts that the integration of Logica is running ahead of schedule while CGI continues to benefit from strong growth in the United States.

Integration costs, which mostly result from a reduction in staffing levels, have totalled $263 million to date. That’s two-thirds of CGI’s $400-million budget to achieve $300 million in annual synergies after three years.

CGI said its first-quarter revenues increased 147.5 per cent to $2.53 billion, slightly above analyst estimates.

“We have established and embedded in our budget the restructuring and transformation necessary to put us on a solid competitive footing and deliver 25 to 30 per cent EPS accretion (growth) this fiscal year, excluding acquisition-related and integration costs,” Roach said during a conference call with analysts.

About 75 per cent of its integration costs relate to severance and other employment-related expenses.

The company has shed a net 1,000 positions across its operations at the end of its first full quarter of incorporating Logica’s business, even after adding about 500 jobs in the United States.

Roach wouldn’t disclose how many jobs will be cut in Europe because he doesn’t want to hurt employee morale, but he said additional reductions will come.

CGI’s net income in the quarter was $22.4 million or seven cents per share, after including $153.4 million of costs related to the takeover. On an adjusted basis, CGI reported 44 cents per share of earnings for the quarter — a penny short of estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.

A year earlier, CGI’s net income was $106.5 million or 40 cents per share, with $1.03 billion of revenue. The company issued 47 million shares with the Logica acquisition raising the total share count to 315 million shares.

Overall U.S. revenue increased by 20 per cent from the prior year, or 15 per cent excluding the contribution from Logica. Roach said it is benefiting from the ramp-up of Obamacare along with commercial contracts in several U.S. states.

While Canada represents a decreasing share of overall revenues and first-quarter revenues declined 3.9 per cent, Roach said it remains a very solid operation that can continue to grow. A corporate reorganization has made the head of CGI’s operations also responsible for Canada.

CGI is the world’s fifth-largest independent provider of computer, communications and other information technology services for large organizations.

During the quarter, it booked $2.8 billion in new contract wins, extensions and renewals, bringing the last 12-month booking total to $6.6 billion, or 106 per cent of revenue.

The strong results caused the company’s shares to increase more than nine per cent, or $2.22, to $26.51 in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Tom Liston of Cantor Fitzgerald raised his target price for CGI to $30.25 after describing the first-quarter results as solid with “robust bookings”, “healthy U.S. growth” and efforts by CGI that will likely result in improved Logica’s margins.

Besides its earnings report, CGI announced a renewed share buyback program. The company’s board has authorized CGI to repurchased up to 10 per cent of its public float — although management isn’t obliged to do so.

Last year, CGI spent an average of $20.68 per share for a total of $21.7 million to buy back about 1.1 million shares.

Banxa, an established payment service provider (PSP) for the crypto-asset sector, has reportedly integrated its crypto-to-fiat gateway with Bancor, a liquidity protocol enabling automated cross-chain swaps and liquidity provision to various digital tokens.

Through this latest integration, Bancor users will have the option to buy digital assets with fiat currencies directly through the bancor.network.

As mentioned in a release shared with Crowdfund Insider:

“As institutions enter the game and crypto begins to mesh with the broader world of finance, the need for liquidity in crypto investment and trading becomes more urgent. It shouldn’t take an hour and a PhD to set up a wallet, buy crypto, trade it, and convert back into fiat. Now Banxa and Bancor are working together to make crypto investment more seamless.”

The announcement further noted that the integration of Banxa’s crypto-to-fiat bridge will aim to empower Bancor clients to buy crypto-assets via the Bancor Network interface with fiat currencies, without being required to convert their fiat holdings into dollar-backed stablecoins, Bitcoin (BTC), or Ethereum (ETH). Crypto-assets directly available via the Bancor Network reportedly include BTC, Bitcoin SV (BSV), Chainlink (LINK), ETH, Litecoin (LTC), Tether (USDT), Binance USD (BUSD) and stablecoin USDC.

As noted in the release:

“Banxa is a payment-service provider and processor for digital assets partnering with different cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms to enable their customerabes to purchase digital assets via multiple payment methods such as credit/debit card, Apple Pay, or bank transfer. Banxa has served crypto companies since 2014 and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.”

Bancor, the crypto liquidity provider, is credited with inventing automated-market makers (AMMs) on the blockchain back in 2017, developing its decentralized exchange (DEX) into one of the most widely-used decentralized finance (DeFi) initiatives. Clients may trade crypto tokens and earn interest by “placing them on Bancor’s decentralized exchange.”

Domenic Carosa, Chairperson and Founder of Banxa, stated:

“As the market continues its record-breaking bull run, we are proud to have our technology integrated with a project like Bancor. Bancor Network provides a smooth, user-friendly interface for non-custodial trading of thousands of cryptocurrency pairs, and this integration enables easier onboarding for users who wish to transact from fiat currencies into their favorite tokens.”

Nate Hindman, Head of Growth at Bancor, remarked:

“We are really happy to be working with Banxa, who is a key player in the fiat-to-crypto bridge space. By partnering with Banxa, our existing users can simply and easily boost their positions. We are empowering a new generation of crypto users to enter the ecosystem.”

CALGARY — The Kyrgyz Republic state company that owns 26 per cent of the shares of Canadian miner Centerra Gold Inc. says in a regulatory filing it intends to sell about 19 per cent of its holdings.

Centerra’s shares fell by as much as 6.5 per cent to $8.40 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the state company, Kyrgyzaltyn JSC, said it intended to sell 14.8 million of its 77.4 million Centerra shares.

Earlier this week, Centerra reported the Kyrgyz Republic Parliament had passed a law that would allow the government to impose “external management” of its Kumtor gold mine if the operating company, Kumtor Gold Co., violates certain Kyrgyz laws.

Centerra also said Kumtor Gold Co. was ordered by a Kyrgyz Republic court last week to pay more than US$3 billion in damages after a ruling that its past practice of placing waste rock on glaciers was illegal, adding it has received further tax assessments that add to claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Centerra says it believes the actions are a concerted effort to coerce it to give up economic value or ownership of the Kumtor mine or to falsely justify a nationalization of the mine. It says it is committed to trying to work with Kyrgyz Republic authorities, but that it will not hesitate to use all legal avenues to protect its rights and interests.

In a report to investors, National Bank analyst Mike Parkin says he expects share prices will remain volatile as Centerra struggles to register its position in the ongoing dispute and considers its options with regard to the share sale.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CG)

The Canadian Press

The President of Kyrgyzstan has signed the law if the government allows him to take control of the largest gold mine if he sees that the Canadian operator of the facility has violated environmental regulations.

The move comes on Friday as authorities put pressure on Centerra Gold, a Canadian-based miner that controls the Kumtor gold mine, on suspicion that the company has committed more than $ 4 billion in environmental and tax violations.

Kumtor, a mine more than 4,000 meters above sea level in the east of the country, accounts for 10% of the national wireless economy.

Britain and Canada issued a joint statement warning of the “major implications of foreign direct investment in Kyrgyzstan” for the adoption of laws and the potential nationalization of the mine.

The center said last week that a law that allows for “external management” of the mine within three months violates the 2009 agreement governing the mine and that the legal claims against the company are called “fully substantiated”.

It is unclear what would happen after the three months of external management that the government can now impose.

The terms of the company’s agreement with the government allow for the international arbitration of unresolved disputes in the country.

The head of the state commission investigating the mine violations on Wednesday announced a $ 1 billion claim for tax violations against the company.

That was when a court imposed more than $ 3 billion on the company’s Kyrgyz subsidiary for dumping mining debris into glaciers.

Kyrgyzstan, a poor mountainous country with few natural resources, has regularly complained that the Center, a company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Kyrgyzstan, has more than a quarter, accusing it of switching to Kumtor.

After being released from prison in a political crisis, President Sadyr Japarov seized sudden control of the Center last October.

As an opposition politician, Japarov made an unsuccessful bid to nationalize the mine, both in parliament and on the street, where he oversaw some chaotic rallies against the company.

At one of those rallies in 2013, a provincial governor was kidnapped – accused of taking the kidnapping in 2017 when Japarov was arrested and the development was the basis for a prison sentence of more than 11 years.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB) (TSX:ACB) stock plunged after hours Thursday when the company reported a drop in recreational cannabis revenue, missing estimates.

The Edmonton, Alberta-based cannabis company revealed a 19.5% year-over-year and 17% sequential decline in revenue to CA$58.4 million ($48.1 million), before provisions, in the third quarter of 2021.

Aurora also posted a negative adjusted EBITDA of CA$24 million, versus a CA$49.6 million loss in the same quarter of 2020.

In addition, the company reported a CA$164.7 million net loss from operations, compared to CA$133.5 million in the corresponding period of last year.

Aurora revealed a quarterly loss of 24 cents per share compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 17 cents loss.

Medical cannabis net revenue increased by 17% year-over-year, reaching CA$36.4 million – reflecting the shift to Aurora’s medical business – including CA$26.9 million in domestic and CA$9.4 million in international medical net revenue.

During the quarter, the average net selling price per gram of dried cannabis rose to CA$5 per gram from CA$4.64 in the corresponding quarter of last year and CA$4.45 in the prior period.

“We delivered the strongest performance in domestic medical and the best results in international medical cannabis of any Canadian LP during the period,” Miguel Martin, CEO of Aurora Cannabis, said.

Other highlights from the company’s third-quarter report include:

• Adjusted gross margin before fair value adjustments on cannabis net revenue was 44%.
• Consumer cannabis net revenue amounted to CA$18 million, (CA$21.3 million excluding provisions), representing a year-over-year decline of 53%.
• Adjusted gross margin before fair value adjustments on consumer cannabis net revenue was 21%.
• Selling, general, and administrative expenses totaled CA$45.1 million (CA$41.9 million), excluding restructuring costs, down by 42% year-over-year.
• As of May 12, the company had roughly CA$525 million in cash.

Business Transformation Plan, Debut On NASDAQ And New Appointments

After a rocky year, the Canadian cannabis producer continued with the execution of its Business Transformation Plan launched in February 2020.

Aurora Cannabis intends to accelerate CA$60 million to CA$80 million in annualized cost efficiencies, including CA$40 million – CA$60 million in costs of goods sold and roughly CA$20 million in selling, general and administrative expenses.

Following the market close on May 24, Aurora will transfer to the Nasdaq Global Select Market from the New York Stock Exchange. 

The company also tapped Ronald Funk, lead independent director and a PG expert, to serve as chairman, replacing Michael Singer, who will continue to serve as a board member.

In addition, Alex Miller opted to join the company’s leadership team as executive vice president of the supply chain. Lori Schick followed suit, agreeing to assume the role of executive vice president of human resources.

ACB Price Action: Aurora Cannabis shares were trading 8.74% lower at $6.68 at last check Friday.

Photo Source: CNW Group/Aurora Cannabis Inc.