Trade Truce Boosts TSX Futures
Market Numbers (Futures)
TSX : Up ( 0.24%) 27,841.89TSXV: Up (0.76%) 793.24DOW: Flat (0.00%) 44,084.00NASDAQ: Up (0.00%) 23,640.75
FTSE: Up (0.02%) 9,131.50
In the Headlines:
Ford just vaulted into the EV arena with a nearly $2 billion blitz to retrofit its 70-year-old Kentucky gas plant—lighting the fuse on what CEO Jim Farley calls the 'Model T moment' for modern auto reinvention.
And Canada's government just unveiled 'Build Canada Homes'—a new federal vehicle primed to fire up housing supply using Canadian-made materials and aggressive public land rollouts, all while the clock ticks down on widespread affordability
Currencies Update: (Futures)
The Canadian dollar lost ground against the greenback, slipping 0.17% to $0.7232 , and eased off by 0.08% versus the euro to $0.6237 , while Bitcoin tumbled 1.51% to land at CDN$163,287.41.
Commodities: (Futures)
Natural Gas: Down (1.04%), 2.92WTI: Down (0.57%), 63.57Gold: Up (0.07%), 3,347.21
Copper: Up (0.63%) 6.04
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
VIQ Solutions Posts Fifth Straight Positive Adjusted EBITDA Quarter
VIQ Solutions Inc. ('VIQ' or 'the Company') (TSX: VQS), a global leader in AI-powered digital documentation, today announced financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025. The Company reported continued margin expansion, its fifth consecutive quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA, and secured its largest SaaS deployment to date, reinforcing its leadership in secure, evidence-based transcription for regulated sectors. Second Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights Revenue: $10.4 million, decrease of 10%, from the same period in the prior year, reflecting the timing of customer volumes and market conditions. Gross Margin: 48%, up from 45.5% from the same period in the prior year, driven by automation and productivity gains. Adjusted EBITDA: $1 million, increase of $0.2 million or 24% from the same period in the prior year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of positive results. Adjusted Operating Loss: $0.8 million, compared to $0.6 million from the same period in the prior year. First Half 2025 Financial Highlights Revenue: $20 million, decrease of 7%, from the same period in the prior year, reflecting the timing of customer volumes and market conditions. Gross Margin: Nearly 50%, up from 44.9% from the same period in the prior year, driven by automation and productivity gains. Adjusted EBITDA: $1.8 million, increase of $1.1 million or 164% from the same period in the prior year, reflecting sustained cost discipline and efficiency gains. Adjusted Operating Loss: $1.5 million, an improvement of $0.9 million. Strategic and Operational Highlights Landmark SaaS Court Deployment: In July 2025, VIQ secured its largest SaaS engagement to date, implementing NetScribe® across 9 judicial districts and 22 counties in the U.S. Midwest. This milestone accelerates VIQ's transition to a higher-margin, subscription-based revenue model. AI-Driven Workflow Automation: The deployment integrates NetScribe®, aiAssist™, Advanced Formatter, supporting internally produced transcription with scalability and optional add-ons including domain-specific language models, advanced post-processing rules, multilingual support, and automated summarization. First Half 2025 Organic Bookings Momentum: VIQ secured $1.9 million of new bookings during first half of 2025, supporting ongoing gross margin expansion and strengthening long-term free cash flow prospects. Management Commentary 'In the first half of 2025, VIQ delivered 164% growth in Adjusted EBITDA, expanded gross margins to nearly 50%, and achieved our fifth consecutive quarter of positive EBITDA,' said Alexie Edwards, CFO of VIQ Solutions. 'While we reported a net loss, this includes approximately $2.0 million in non-cash expenses, such as depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation, with $1.1 million recorded in Q2. These charges impact earnings per share but do not affect our cash flow.' 'With our largest SaaS deployment now in motion, increased bookings, and a clear focus on strengthening the balance sheet and reducing debt, we are expanding our financial flexibility to reinvest in growth. Our AI-driven platform and automation strategy continue to fuel stronger margins and sustained EBITDA gains, laying the foundation for long-term growth and value creation.' A copy of the Company's unaudited financial statements and accompanying MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 (collectively, the 'Financial Information') will be available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at Conference Call Details VIQ will host a conference call and webcast to discuss Financial Information on August 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern time). The call will consist of updates by Alexie Edwards, VIQ's Chief Financial Officer followed by a question-and-answer period. Investors may access a live webcast of the call on the Company's website at or by dialing 1-888-440-4052 (North America toll-free) or +1-646-960-0827 (international) to be connected to the call by an operator using conference ID number 4983233. Participants should dial at least 10 minutes before the call starts. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's website through the same link approximately one hour after the conference call concludes. For more information about VIQ, please visit About VIQ Solutions VIQ Solutions is a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services. VIQ offers a seamless, comprehensive solution suite that delivers intelligent automation, enhanced with human review, to drive transformation in the way content is captured, secured, and repurposed into actionable information. The cyber-secure, AI technology and services platform are implemented in the most rigid security environments including criminal justice, legal, insurance, government, corporate finance, media, and transcription service provider markets, enabling them to improve the quality and accessibility of evidence, to easily identify predictive insights and to achieve digital transformation faster and at a lower cost. Forward-looking Statements Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information (collectively, 'forward-looking statements') under applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements typically contain statements with words such as 'anticipate', 'believe', 'expect', 'plan', 'intend', 'estimate', 'propose', 'project' or similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions 'may' or 'will' occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to statements with respect to the Company's ability to accelerate automation, optimize costs, and improve scalability in the future, expected margin improvement, the Company's focus and its priorities, the filing of the Financial Information on SEDAR+ and the conference call to discuss the Company's financial results. Forward-looking statements are based on several factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although VIQ believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because VIQ can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition to other factors and assumptions which may be identified in this press release, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, recent initiatives, cost savings from workforce and product optimization, cost reductions from the Company's workflow solutions and that sales and prospects may increase revenue. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions that have been used. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the 'Risk Factors' section of the Company's annual information form and in the Company's other materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. Such estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect or overstated. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and the Company expressly disclaims any obligations to update or alter such statements, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Non-IFRS Measures The Company prepares its financial statements in accordance with IFRS. Non-IFRS measures are provided by management to provide additional insight into our performance and financial condition. VIQ believes non-IFRS measures are an important part of the financial reporting process and are useful in communicating information that complements and supplements the consolidated financial statements. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating loss are not measures recognized by IFRS and do not have a standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. Therefore, Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating loss may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Investors are cautioned that Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating loss should not be construed as alternatives to net income (loss) as determined in accordance with IFRS. For a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating loss please see the Company's MD&A for three and six months ended June 30, 2025. To evaluate the Company's operating performance as a complement to results provided in accordance with IFRS, the term 'Adjusted EBITDA' refers to net income (loss) before adjusting earnings for stock-based compensation, depreciation, amortization, interest expense, accretion, and other financing expense, (gain) loss on revaluation of options, (gain) loss on revaluation of restricted share units, gain (loss) on revaluation of derivative warrant liability, restructuring costs, strategic review costs, loss on modification of debt, impairment of property and equipment, impairment of goodwill and intangibles, other expense (income), foreign exchange (gain) loss, current and deferred income tax expense. We believe that the items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA are not connected to and do not represent the operating performance of the Company. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful supplemental information as it provides an indication of the results generated by the Company's main business activities prior to taking into consideration how those activities are financed and taxed as well as expenses related to stock-based compensation, depreciation, amortization, impairment of goodwill and intangibles, loss on modification or extinguishment of debt, other expense (income), and foreign exchange (gain) loss. Accordingly, we believe that this measure may also be useful to investors in enhancing their understanding of the Company's operating performance. The term 'adjusted operating loss' refers to net income (loss) excluding the impact of strategic review costs. Management believes it is appropriate to adjust for this item because strategic review costs do not relate to operating activities of the Company and is useful supplemental information as it provides an indication of the results generated by the Company's main business activities. The presentation of this measure enables investors and analysts to better understand the underlying performance of our business activities. We calculate 'bookings' for a given period as the estimated contract value (for services tied to volume) of our recurring client contracts entered into during the period from (i) new clients and (ii) net upgrades by existing clients within the same workload, plus the actual (not annualized) estimated value of professional services consulting, advisory or project-based orders received, software licenses, subscriptions, SaaS, and hardware during the period. Trademarks This press release includes trademarks, such as 'NetScribe', which are protected under applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of VIQ. Solely for convenience, our trademarks referred to in this press release may appear without the ® or TM symbol, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert our rights to these trademarks, trade names, and services marks to the fullest extent under applicable law. Trademarks that may be used in this press release, other than those that belong to VIQ, are the property of their respective owners. June 30, 2025 December 31, 2024 Assets Current assets Cash $ 1,117,164 $ 1,573,341 Trade and other receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts 4,422,766 3,768,699 Inventories 25,914 23,508 Prepaid expenses and other deposits 890,576 1,183,496 Non-current assets 6,456,420 6,549,044 Restricted cash 177,560 169,097 Property and equipment, net 541,883 654,223 Right-of-use assets, net 349,610 153,794 Intangible assets 5,183,967 5,661,614 Goodwill 11,929,976 11,628,213 Total assets $ 24,639,416 $ 24,815,985 Liabilities Current liabilities Trade and other payables and accrued liabilities $ 6,846,250 $ 5,673,346 Income taxes payable 61,890 29,765 Share-based payment liability 643 19,366 Derivative warrant liability 38,019 35,238 Current portion of long-term debt 17,099,730 15,988,401 Current portion of lease obligations 206,345 204,802 Contract liabilities 1,475,909 1,635,041 Non-current liabilities 25,728,786 23,585,959 Long-term lease obligations 167,884 – Other long-term liabilities 924,371 949,622 Total liabilities 26,821,041 24,535,581 Shareholders' equity Capital stock 77,665,053 77,593,993 Contributed surplus 9,364,786 9,145,162 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (1,341,494 ) (1,356,521 ) Deficit (87,869,970 ) (85,102,230 ) Total shareholders' equity (2,181,625 ) 280,404 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 24,639,416 $ 24,815,985 VIQ Solutions Inc. Interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Loss and Comprehensive Loss (Expressed in US dollars, unaudited) Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2025 2024 2025 2024 Revenue $ 10,445,488 $ 11,575,614 $ 20,024,513 $ 21,497,287 Cost of sales 5,436,220 6,312,797 10,040,105 11,841,912 Gross profit 5,009,268 5,262,817 9,984,408 9,655,375 Expenses Selling and administrative expenses 3,866,110 4,328,687 7,676,752 8,639,461 Research and development expenses 179,957 155,416 320,476 320,526 Stock-based compensation 292,682 111,283 291,865 139,816 Gain on revaluation of RSUs (21,482 ) (18,534 ) (19,553 ) (47,311 ) Loss (gain) on revaluation of the derivative Warrant liability 8,260 7,479 1,238 (49,686 ) Foreign exchange gain (354,295 ) (590,719 ) (438,327 ) (487,886 ) Depreciation 175,864 194,237 340,547 389,221 Amortization 658,581 813,889 1,366,158 1,620,346 Interest expense 439,704 405,965 928,326 794,889 Accretion and other financing costs 456,029 425,216 875,059 752,094 Restructuring costs (recovery) 37,349 5,874 36,066 (3,820 ) Strategic review costs 119,124 – 1,294,726 – Other income (1,911 ) (10,208 ) (8,118 ) (21,413 ) Total expenses 5,855,972 5,828,585 12,665,215 12,046,237 Current income tax expense 52,654 6,063 86,933 21,107 Income tax expense 52,654 6,063 86,933 21,107 Net loss for the period $ (899,358 ) $ (571,831 ) $ (2,767,740 ) $ (2,411,969 ) Exchange (loss) gain on translation of foreign operations 16,115 (483,076 ) 15,027 (795,107 ) Comprehensive loss for the period $ (883,243 ) $ (1,054,907 ) $ (2,752,713 ) $ (3,207,076 ) Net loss per share Basic (0.02 ) (0.01 ) (0.05 ) (0.05 ) Diluted (0.02 ) (0.01 ) (0.05 ) (0.05 ) Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – basic 52,563,142 51,348,578 52,449,214 48,065,488 Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – diluted 52,563,142 51,348,578 52,449,214 48,065,488 The following is a reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA, the most directly comparable IFRS measure for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, and 2024: Three months ended June 30 Six months June 30 (Unaudited) 2025 2024 2025 2024 Net Loss (899,358) (571,831) (2,767,740) (2,411,969) Add: Depreciation 175,864 194,237 340,547 389,221 Amortization 658,581 813,889 1,366,158 1,620,346 Interest expense 439,704 405,965 928,326 794,889 Current income tax (recovery) expense 52,654 6,063 86,933 21,107 EBITDA 427,445 848,323 (45,776) 413,594 Accretion and other financing costs 456,029 425,216 875,059 752,094 Gain on revaluation of RSUs (21,482) (18,534) (19,553) (47,311) Loss (Gain) on revaluation of the derivative warrant liability 8,260 7,479 1,238 (49,686) Restructuring costs 37,349 5,874 36,066 (3,820) Strategic Review Costs 119,123 - 1,294,726 - Other income (1,911) (10,208) (159,978) (21,413) Stock-based compensation 292,682 111,283 291,865 139,816 Foreign exchange gain (354,295) (590,719) (438,327) (487,886) Adjusted EBITDA 963,201 778,714 1,835,320 695,388 The following is a reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted operating loss, the most directly comparable IFRS measure for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, and 2024:
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Canadian auto parts makers say they've steered around the worst of tariff headwinds
Canadian auto parts companies say the current North American trade agreement is helping them manage headwinds from south of the border, even as tariff disruptions intensified over the past months. With recent earnings reports from Martinrea International Inc. and Linamar Corp., both firms highlighted compliance with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement as a source of shelter from the harsh tariffs imposed by the United States.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Rustad calls for BC Ferries to scrap Chinese vessel contract
The leader of B.C.'s official Opposition is calling for the province to cancel BC Ferries' multi-billion-dollar contract with a Chinese shipyard. The ferry company has faced criticism from all sides since announcing this spring it would purchase its next four vessels from China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards (CMI Weihai) after a lengthy open bid process. No Canadian shipyards bid on the project, and the ferry company says the Chinese bid came in at about $1.2 billion cheaper than European competitors. BC Conservative Leader John Rustad said Tuesday that in the wake of China's latest tariffs on Canada, the deal should be scrapped. China announced a 75.8 per cent tariff on Canadian canola products this week, expected to deliver a $5 billion hit to the industry. 1:57 Union demands ferries be built in Canada Rustad said the Chinese move follows similar aggressive trade actions targeting Canadian seafood and wood pulp. Story continues below advertisement 'I think we should break this contract. I think that we need to send a message. We want to be able to have a good trade relationship with China. We want be able make sure that we have the ability to do things, but you don't reward a country that is quite frankly attacking other sectors of our economy,' Rustad said. 'I think there probably would be a penalty and quite frankly I think the board of BC Ferries should be fired for incompetence for actually putting us in this position in the first place.' Rustad further accused the NDP government of 'incompetence' for failing to work with local shipbuilders years ago to ensure they had the capacity to handle upcoming BC Ferries orders, and said if they were already fully committed to other projects the ferry company should have gone with 'some of our allies' like Germany or Poland. B.C. Premier Davide Eby has previously said that he would not override the deal, telling reporters it would cost billions to overturn and delay the procurement of badly-needed vessels. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy In a statement, NDP Saanich South MLA Lana Popham said acquiring the new vessels was urgent. 'People need the new ships, quickly, so they can get where they need to go and aren't left sitting at the terminal parking lot. We are working to ensure future ships for BC Ferries are built here in Canada. Story continues below advertisement BC Ferries has said that cost was a key driver in its new ferry procurement process, and that any additional cost of more expensive vessels would be passed on to passengers. 1:24 'We shouldn't be giving federal tax dollars to subsidize jobs overseas:' Poilievre calls for loan to BC Ferries to be cancelled BC Ferries currently charges $95 for a car and driver plus $15 per passenger one-way on its major southern routes, and has warned that it could be forced to further hike fares by 30 per cent by 2028. Earlier this month, CEO Nicolas Jimenez told the House of Common Transport Committee that while two Canadian shipyards pre-qualified for the process, neither submitted a bid. BC Ferries received six compliant proposals, all from foreign shipyards, and chose the bid with the best overall value, including delivery timeline, technical performance, lifecycle cost, and service-level commitments, he testified. 'This was a choice between a foreign bid or no new ferries,' he told MPs. Story continues below advertisement Domestic shipyards, however, have argued that the bid process essentially excluded them by focusing on cost alone and that they were unable to compete due to pricier local labour. UBC Sauder School of Business economics professor Werner Antweiler said that while there have been many calls for BC Ferries to drop the contract, it would only make sense if there was a realistic alternative. He noted that local shipbuilder Seaspan is already fully booked with contracts for the military and Coast Guard, and that waiting is likely not an option for BC Ferries. 'If you want to receive ships that are affordable and available soon, there seems to be very little other options than going ahead with the contract that has been signed with China CMI,' he said. 2:12 Push for government to support domestic ship building industry 'So I'm not quite sure when people say well, we should build them domestically, what exactly they are proposing who is going to build and when.' Story continues below advertisement He added that cancelling the deal would do little harm to China's larger economy, while risking further increasing trade tensions. BC Ferries is technically an independent company with its own board and executives, though its sole shareholder is the BC government. Antweiler added that given its arms-length status, it would be improper for the provincial government to step in and override decision making. 'It means like really renationalizing BC Ferries and bringing it back under provincial control and making it a Crown corporation,' he said. 'If that is what is being proposed then Mr. Rustad should be clear about if that is where he wants to go.' 1:48 Federal transportation minister calls out province on BC Ferries' contract with China Rustad is not alone in his criticism of the deal. Story continues below advertisement Trades in the province and the union representing BC Ferries workers have both spoken out against it. B.C. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth said he was 'disappointed' more Canadian shipyards weren't involved, while federal Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland said she was 'dismayed' at the choice and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Canadian tax dollars should not be subsidizing jobs overseas. MPs have launched a probe at the federal transportation committee of a $1 billion loan to BC Ferries from Canada Infrastructure Bank. BC Ferries is not the first Canadian ferry service to receive a ferry from CMI Weihai. Marine Atlantic Ferries, a federal Crown corporation that services Newfoundland, recently took a delivery of a new vessel from the same shipyard.
