Business Watch

Winnipeg one smart city

FOR the third year in a row, Winnipeg has made it on the top 21 list of smart cities as chosen by the Intelligent Community Forum.

It was one of four Canadian cities, and seven from North America, of the 300 cities that submitted entries.

Among other things, the program considers the relationship between innovation and employment in communities around the world with emphasis on collaboration, leadership and sustainability.

Marina James, the CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg, said the city gets involved in a program such as this because it's important to guage its performance on the world stage.

"This is not about Economic Development Winnipeg, it's about identifying what type of collaborations are going on in the community, then saying here is what we are doing and how do we measure up," she said. "And I think we measure up quite well."

The submission flags a number of collaborations that show how the city is homing in on the areas that can produce the best results.

Institutions highlighted include the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, TRLabs, the Composites Innovation Centre, the Eureka Project and Biomedical Commercialization Canada.

Cangene's net loss $28.3M

IN fiscal 2012, Cangene Corporation experienced "significant challenges and changes" in the words of its CEO.

That meant a net loss of $28.3 million and a 26 per cent decline in revenue to $111 million.

John Sedor said, "Our financial performance does not yet reflect the solid progress we've made. We reorganized our workforce and made key changes to our senior leadership team... and we recreated an entrepreneurial culture that sets the stage for future growth."

The decrease in revenue is largely attributable to $32.8-million lower product-services revenue on its U.S. government anthrax immune globulin contract.

Net loss for the current year of $28.3 million compares with net income of $1.5 million in the prior year. The net loss in 2012 results largely from a combination of lower revenue and gross profit on contract services and lower gross profit on biopharmaceutical product sales.

Shares closed up five cents to $1.65.

Winpak's Q3 profit rises

PLASTIC-packaging manufacturer Winpak Ltd. has racked up a quarter of double-digit profit growth after spinning its wheels earlier in the year.

The Winnipeg-based firm reported an 18.5 per cent increase in profit for the third quarter, which ended on Sept. 30.

Net earnings attributable to shareholders grew to $17.1 million, or 26 cents per share, from $14.5 million (22 cents per share) a year earlier.

That was a marked improvement from the second quarter, when the sluggish U.S. economy and increased competition kept net earnings virtually unchanged from a year earlier.

The strong showing was achieved in spite of a $5.3-million (3.1 per cent) drop in revenue for the quarter -- $165.4 million versus $170.7 million.

Winpak CEO Bruce Berry said the weaker revenues were mainly due to lower selling prices. He said Winpak's prices are indexed to the cost of the raw materials it uses, and those costs were down during the quarter.

He said a number of factors contributed to the stronger net earnings, including better gross profit margins, a lower income tax rate and a favourable foreign exchange rate.

The company also sold its drink-cup product line during the third quarter. Berry said the line, which operated out of its Toronto plant, wasn't a strong performer and the company wanted to focus its resources on more profitable and more sophisticated product lines. He said the sale did not have a significant impact on net earnings.

The strong Q3 showing left earnings running 10.5 per cent ahead of last year's pace after the first nine months -- $50 million, or 77 cents per share, versus $$45.3 million, or 70 cents per share.

Winpak manufactures machines and plastic materials for the packaging of perishable foods, beverages, and in health care applications. It's shares closed up 10 cents to $16 on Thursday.

Shaw's Q4 profit drops

CUSTOMER service and careful pricing are priorities across Shaw Communications' operations in fiscal 2013, CEO Brad Shaw said Thursday after the company reported a 20 per cent drop in quarterly profit.

The Calgary cable and media company has added staff to deliver better service and has "dramatically" reduced call-waiting times, he said.

"We have applied more rigour and discipline to our pricing, customer-acquisition strategies and marketing activities," Brad Shaw said on a conference call. "This strategy was evident in our financial results in the second half of the year and this will continue to be our focus in fiscal 2013."

Other cable companies such as Rogers and Quebecor's Videotron have also put an emphasis on customer service to help prevent customers from going to competitors.

Shaw Media operates Global Television and 19 specialty networks including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, History Television and Showcase and also offers high-speed Internet among its services.

In its 2013 outlook, the company said it anticipates modest growth in consolidated revenue and operating income before amortization.

It also plans to continue to enhance its network and launch a new satellite.

In its financial results, Shaw said its net income from continuing operations fell 20 per cent to $133 million in the fourth quarter ended Aug. 31.

iPad sales miss forecasts

NEW YORK -- Apple missed Wall Street's earnings expectations for the second straight quarter, as iPad sales fell short of analysts' forecasts.

The slowdown in the growth of iPad sales was not unexpected, as the rumour mill correctly predicted Apple would launch a smaller, cheaper iPad. It announced that device, the iPad Mini, on Tuesday.

Net income in the fiscal fourth quarter was $8.2 billion, or $8.67 per share. That was up 24 per cent from $6.6 billion, or $7.05 per share, a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting earnings of $8.84 per share.

Revenue was $36 billion, up 27 per cent from a year ago. Analysts were expecting $35.8 billion.

Apple sold 26.9 million iPhones in the quarter, at the high end of expectations, and 14 million iPads.

Times stock falls 21%

NEW YORK -- The New York Times Co. reported a sharp decline in its third-quarter net income on Thursday and said revenue fell below analysts' expectations amid weakness in print and digital advertising.

The company's stock fell 21 per cent in afternoon trading.

The media company, which publishes its namesake newspaper and the Boston Globe, earned $2.3 million, or two cents per share, in the July-September period. That's down 85 per cent from $15.7 million, or 10 cents per share, from a year earlier.

In the year-ago quarter, the Times Co. booked a one-time gain of $37.8 million, or 24 cents per share, from the sale of its stake in the Boston Red Sox and other sports holdings. This was partially offset by a charge of $27.5 million, or 18 cents per share, from its early repayment of a $250 million high-interest loan.

The company booked severance costs totalling $1.7 million, or a penny per share, in both quarters.

Excluding the severance expenses and the results of businesses it no longer owns, the Times Co. booked a loss of one cent per share in the latest quarter, the same as in the third quarter a year ago. Analysts were expecting third-quarter adjusted earnings of eight cents per share.

Revenue fell less than one per cent to $449 million from $451 million. Analysts, on average, were expecting revenue of $477 million.

Postmedia takes Q4 loss

TORONTO -- Postmedia Network Canada Corp. had a $28.4-million loss in the fourth quarter of its 2012 financial year as the newspaper and Internet publisher's revenue fell nearly six per cent from a year earlier.

The Toronto-based company, which owns the National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette and other dailies across the country, said a number of factors contributed to the increased loss.

Revenue dropped to $190.1 million from $202.1 million, as a slight increase in digital sales failed to offset declines from print publications.

-- staff / from the news services

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 26, 2012 B5