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Winnipeg Free Press
13 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
AI firm Cohere raises US$500 million, giving business US$6.8 billion valuation
TORONTO – Cohere says it's raised US$500 million, giving the Canadian artificial intelligence firm a US$6.8 billion valuation. The funding round was led by Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital, with additional cash from AMD Ventures, Nvidia, PSP Investments, Salesforce Ventures and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. Cohere says the money will accelerate the Toronto-based company's efforts to build agentic AI products. It says its AI aims to free people from tedious tasks, giving them more time for more interesting and challenging work. In addition to the funding, Cohere announced Joelle Pineau, who was previously Meta's vice-president of AI research, will become the company's chief AI officer. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. Francois Chadwick, who has worked at Uber and KPMG, will become Cohere's chief financial officer. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.
Globe and Mail
13 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Canadian Natural Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Expenses Decrease Y/Y
Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNQ reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of 51 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents. However, the bottom line decreased from 64 cents in the year-ago quarter. The underperformance can be attributed to lower realized oil and natural gas liquid ('NGL') prices. Total revenues of $6.3 billion decreased from $6.6 billion in the prior-year period, fueled by declined product sales. However, the figure marginally beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $5 million. On Aug. 7, CNQ's board of directors approved its quarterly cash dividend of 58.75 Canadian cents per common share. The dividend will be payable on Oct. 3 to its shareholders of record as of the close of business on Sept. 19, 2025. This marks the company's continued commitment to returning value to its shareholders. This commitment is further evidenced by CNQ's impressive track record of growing and sustaining its dividend for 25 years, boasting a remarkable 21% annual growth rate over that period. In the second quarter of 2025, the company returned around C$1.6 billion directly to its shareholders. This included C$1.2 billion in dividends and C$0.4 billion from the repurchase and cancellation of 8.6 million common shares, purchased at a weighted average price of C$41.46 per share. The oil and gas exploration and production company delivered strong financial results in the second quarter of 2025, highlighted by net earnings of approximately C$2.5 billion. Furthermore, CNQ reported robust adjusted net earnings from operations of approximately C$1.5 billion. This strong performance was also reflected in the company's cash flow. From operating activities, cash flows totaled approximately C$3.1 billion and adjusted funds flow reached approximately C$3.3 billion. Up to Aug. 6, 2025, the Calgary-based company delivered significant returns to its shareholders, amounting to approximately C$4.6 billion. This total was composed of C$3.6 billion in dividends and C$1 billion through the repurchase and cancellation of 22.4 million common shares. CNQ's Production & Prices Canadian Natural reported quarterly production of 1,420,358 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d), up 10.5% from the prior-year quarter's level. However, the figure missed our model projection of 1,543,882 Boe/d. The oil and NGL output (accounting for around 75% of total volumes) increased to 1,019,149 barrels per day (Bbl/d) from 934,066 Bbl/d recorded a year ago. However, the figure missed our model projection of 1,137,442 Bbl/d. Natural gas volumes totaled 2,407 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), up 14.1% from 2,110 MMcf/d recorded in the year-ago period. However, the figure missed our model projection of 2,439 MMcf/d. Natural gas production in North America reached 2,398 MMcf/d in the second quarter of 2025 compared with 2,099 MMcf/d in the second quarter of 2024. However, the figure missed our model projection of 2,426 MMcf/d. Exploration and production activities in North America, not including thermal in situ methods, reported an average output of 271,022 Bbl/d. This indicates a 17% year-over-year increase during this quarter. Meanwhile, thermal in situ production volume increased to 274,789 Bbl/d from 268,044 Bbl/d recorded a year ago. However, the figure missed our model projection of 291,060 Bbl/d. The Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading operations in North America reported an average output of 463,808 Bbl/d of synthetic crude oil. This represented a 13% increase from the prior-year quarter levels of 410,518 Bbl/d. The realized natural gas price increased 62.3% to C$2.58 per thousand cubic feet from the year-ago level of C$1.59. The realized oil and NGL price decreased 19.7% to C$69.58 per barrel from C$86.64 in the second quarter of 2024. The company also achieved industry-leading annual operating costs for Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading, amounting to C$26.53 per barrel in the second quarter of 2025. Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading continues to outperform expectations, following both the Reliability Enhancement Project at Horizon and the debottlenecking at Athabasca Oil Sands Project, that were completed in 2024. On recently acquired Duvernay assets, Canadian Natural's effective and efficient operations have resulted in both capital and operating cost efficiencies. Additionally, the company achieved strong operating costs in the Duvernay of $8.43/Boe, a decrease of 11% from year-ago levels of $9.52/Boe. CNQ's Costs & Capital Expenditure Total expenses in the quarter were C$5.9 billion, down from C$6.8 billion recorded in the year-ago period. The decrease was mainly caused by lower blending and feedstock expense and foreign exchange gains. Capital expenditure totaled C$3 billion compared with C$2 billion a year ago. CNQ's Balance Sheet As of June 30, 2025, CNQ had cash and cash equivalents worth C$102 million and long-term debt of approximately C$15.7 billion, with a debt to capitalization of about 27.6%. CNQ's 2025 Guidance CNQ's capital budget for 2025 remains unchanged at $6.05 billion, excluding abandonments. For 2025, the production target also remains unchanged in the range of 1,510-1,555 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. In July 2025, after ending of the quarter, the company purchased certain producing and non-producing assets within its North America Exploration and Production segment for approximately $750 million, subject to final closing adjustments. This acquisition was not included in the 2025 capital budget. CNQ currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Important Earnings at a Glance While we have discussed CNQ's second-quarter results in detail, let us take a look at three other key reports in this space. Alberta, Canada-based integrated energy company, Suncor Energy Inc. SU reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted operating earnings of 51 cents per share, which marginally beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 50 cents. This outperformance can be attributed to strong production growth in its upstream segment. However, the bottom line declined considerably from the year-ago quarter's reported figure of 93 cents due to lower adjusted operating earnings in the downstream segment. Operating revenues of $8.6 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.3% primarily due to increased sales volumes in both upstream and downstream segments. However, the top line decreased approximately 9.8% year over year. As of June 30, 2025, the company had cash and cash equivalents of C$2.3 billion and long-term debt of C$8.6 billion. Its debt-to-capitalization was 16.1%. Calgary, Canada-basedintegrated oil company, Imperial Oil Limited IMO reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $1.34, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.22. However, the bottom line decreased from the year-ago quarter's $1.54. This decrease was due to lower upstream price realizations, partly offset by higher production volumes. Revenues of $8.1 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.5 billion. The top line also decreased from the year-ago quarter's level of $9.8 billion, primarily due to weak performance in the Chemical segment. As of June 30, Imperial Oil had cash and cash equivalents of C$2.4 billion. Total debt of the company amounted to C$4 billion, with a debt-to-capitalization of 13.8%. Calgary, Canada-based vertically integrated operator of energy infrastructure assets, Pembina Pipeline Corporation PBA, reported second-quarter 2025 earnings per share of 47 cents, which was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line decreased from the year-ago quarter's level of 55 cents. This decrease was primarily due to an asset retirement at the Redwater Complex, lower profit from PGI and lower other income. Quarterly revenues of $1.3 billion decreased about 4.5% year over year. The metric also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.6 billion significantly. As of June 30, 2025, PBA had cash and cash equivalents worth C$210 million and C$12.7 billion in long-term debt. Debt-to-capitalization was 42.8%. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops." Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Suncor Energy Inc. (SU): Free Stock Analysis Report Imperial Oil Limited (IMO): Free Stock Analysis Report Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ): Free Stock Analysis Report Pembina Pipeline Corp. (PBA): Free Stock Analysis Report
CTV News
13 minutes ago
- CTV News
Remote work for Ontario Public Service workers to end in 2026: province
More than 60,000 Ontario Public Service workers will be required to return to the office full time starting in January 2026, the province announced Thursday. Minister Caroline Mulroney, who serves as the president of the Treasury Board, made the announcement in a news release and said the transition 'represents the current workforce landscape in the province.' Ontario Public Service workers had previously been mandated to work from the office a minimum of three days a week. The province said that, based on the nature of their work, over half of all public servants are already required to attend the office in-person full time. 'As the government delivers on our plan to protect Ontario, we will continue to drive public service excellence for the people of Ontario. Effective January 5, 2026, the Ontario Public Service and its provincial agencies, boards and commission public bodies will return to the office full time,' Mulroney wrote. Employees currently working in the office three days a week will need to increase their in-person attendance to four days a week starting on Oct. 20, before remote work comes to an end in January, the province said. Mulroney said that the transition is an 'important step' that supports the government's efforts to build a 'more competitive, resilient and self-reliant Ontario.' Ontario's public servants were first called back to the office for a minimum commitment of three days per week back in 2022. At that time, roughly half of them had been working remotely for part, or all, of the two years that followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
