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Crescent Point Energy(CPG-TSX)

Year End Reserve Numbers Prove the Worth of Bakken - writtenby Rob Mark, CFA

March 16th, 2010
CPG announced year-end results last week. CFPS and production were inline with our outlook and consensus. CFPS was $4.15 vs. $4.73 and production was 44,883 boe/d (89% oil) vs. 37,397 boe/d (87% oil). CFPS was lower due to a 30% increase in the share count. Actual cash flow increased 14% year-over-year to $673 million.

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Costco Wholesale Corporation(COST-NASDAQ)

Strong Earnings Recovery Now Underway - written by William J. Chisholm, CFA

March 16th, 2010
Q2 2010: Costco’s earnings recovery accelerated in the second quarter with earnings rising 25% to $299 million. Diluted EPS for the quarter ended February 14, 2010 rose to $0.67 from $0.55. This followed a basically flat Q1 so that first half EPS rose to $1.27 from $1.14. The Q2 results were driven by both an improved performance in the U.S. and a favorable currency impact on the buoyant international operations.

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Baytex Energy Trust(BTE.UN-TSX)

Solid 2009 Results and 2010 Outlook - written by Rob Mark, CFA

March 16th, 2010
BTE.UN announced Q4 and year-end results last week. Cash flow and production numbers were inline with our expectations. 2009 CFPU was $3.17 vs. $4.61 on lower commodity prices while production grew 3% to 41,382 boe/d. 76% of the company’s production was weighted to oil and liquids in 2010. We expect this ratio to move higher in 2010 as capital investment is directed away from natural gas.

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Quadra Mining(QUA-TSX)

Fourth Quarter 2009 Results and Joint Venture with SGID - written by Ian Nakamoto, CFA

March 10th, 2010
The company reported strong fourth quarter financial and operating results with adjusted earnings (excludes non-cash charges such as gains/losses on derivatives) per share of US$0.51 versus consensus of US$0.31 and last year’s loss of $2.38 a share. More importantly, the company outlined its memorandum of understanding with a Chinese company named State Grid International Development Limited (SGID), an electrical utility servicing over one billion people in China and is the third largest company in China and the 15th largest company in the world and a large consumer of copper.

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Vermilion Energy Trust(VET.UN-TSX)

Q4 Results Beat the Street - written by Rob Mark, CFA

March 10th, 2010
VET.UN reported its Q4 and 2009 results this week. CFPU was $1.14 vs. $0.89, well ahead of consensus of $1.03. Production came in slightly ahead of guidance at 31,395 boe/d (63% oil and liquids). This was down 4.5% over 2009 but was a positive result considering capital spending was cut by 20% in 2009. The company improved costs in most areas and produced strong reserve numbers.

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Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.(ATD.B-TSX)

US Fuel Business Weaker than Anticipated in Q3; Dividend Increased 14% - written by William J. Chisholm, CFA

March 10th, 2010
Primarily reflecting a year-over-year drop of 5.33 cents/gallon in the gross margin on motor fuel in the U.S., Couche-Tard’s Q3 2010 earnings came in at the low end of estimates. Diluted EPS for Q3 2010 ended January 31, 2010 declined to $0.29 from $0.36. This partially offset first half gains so that the gain for the first 40 weeks of fiscal 2010 was 13.8% with EPS rising to $1.24 from $1.09.

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Parkland Income Fund(PKI.UN-TSX)

A High Current Yield with Attractive Capital Appreciation Potential - written by William J.

March 10th, 2010
2009: Despite a weak Q4 when the refining component of fuel margins was unusually weak, Parkland achieved highly satisfactory results in 2009. Led by a 16.5% increase in fuel volumes, EBITDA rose 12% to $90.8 million with distributable cash rising 14.4% to $$79.9 million or to $1.60 per unit from $1.39. Fuel marketing remained the primary source of earnings generating 73.2% of total gross profit last year, up from 68.5% in 2008. The 2009 gross profit margin of $0.0665/litre was lower than Parkland’s average of $0.0727/litre over the past five years.

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Enerplus Resources Fund(ERF.UN-TSX)

Year End Results are a Mixed Bag - written by Rob Mark, CFA

March 3rd, 2010
ERF.UN reported year-end results today. CFPU was $4.58 vs. $7.86, which was ahead of our forecast but fairly in-line with consensus. Production was 2% higher than our forecast at 91,570 boe/d (59% natural gas). Cost containment was strong with operating costs 4% lower than expected at $9.79/boe.

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Davis+Henderson Income Fund(DHF.UN-TSX)

DHF.UN Achieves Expectations, Indicates Annual Dividend of $1.20 in 2011 - written by William J. Chisholm, CFA

March 3rd, 2010
Davis + Henderson ended 2009 in a strong manner and met investors’ expectations. Adjusted net income for Q4/09 rose 10.1% to $0.54 per unit. This took the full year value to $2.27 per unit virtually unchanged from the 2008 level. Distributable cash per unit for the year amounted to $2.31 again virtually unchanged from the $2.32 generated in 2008. The payout ratio in 209 was a conservative 79.5%.

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Parkland Income Fund(PKI.UN-TSX)

Anticipated 2011 Dividend Increased - written by William J. Chisholm, CFA

March 3rd, 2010
Sharply lower refining margins and soft sales in its Commercial segment produced lower than expected results in Parkland’s Q4. EBITDA for the quarter declined 45% to $13.7 million with EPU of $0.09 down from $0.20. Distributable cash for the quarter declined 16% to $14.7 million so that the payout ratio in the latest quarter was 102%.

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Aecon Group Inc.(ARE-TSX)

Q$ Results a Little Light, but Outlook Remains Solid - written by P. Christopher Sears

March 3rd, 2010
Aecon Group reported Q4 results with EPS of $0.26 versus $0.40 in the same quarter last year on revenues basically flat at $600 million. The EPS figure was $0.02 below Street expectations while revenues fell short of the goal by about 10%. The strength in the quarter came from the Infrastructure division, where margins were significantly higher but was offset by the realization of losses in the Buildings division relating to two contracts in Ontario.

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FirstServices Corporation(FSV-TSX/FSRV-NASDAQ)

All Three Groups Positioned for Growth in 2010 - written by William J. Chisholm, CFA

March 1st, 2010
2009: FirstService’s diversified service base allowed it to achieve satisfactory results in 2009. Consolidated revenues rose 6.7% to $1.7 billion and EBITDA was essentially flat at $114.1 million. Adjusted EPS rose to $1.42 from $1.37. Growth in Property Services essentially offset a decline in Commercial Real Estate.

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Hanfeng Evergreen(HF-TSX)

4th Quarter 2009 Results - written by Ian Nakamoto

February 26th, 2010
We feel HF is a compelling growth story driven by volume/capacity increases and new product introductions over the short and medium term and feel their current design capacity of 762,500 tonnes (in 2005 less than 100,000 tonnes of capacity) will grow to a run rate of 1.3 million tonnes by the end of 2010 and reach management’s goal of 2 million tonnes by the end of 2012.

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Canadian Tire Corporation Limited(CTC.A-TSX)

Earnings Recovery Expected to Get Underway in Second Half of 2010 - written by William J. Chisholm, CFA

February 26th, 2010
Canadian Tire Retail: A soft weather related Q4 resulted in a 3.7% decline in adjusted pre tax earnings in CTR Retail for 2009. This was the second consecutive year of lower earnings. Same store sales declined 2.6% last year. The lack of snow in central Canada and the still weak economy will likely extend this trend into Q1/10. The program to convert existing stores to the “Smart Store” format is working and about 60 will be retrofitted this year. This program plus an improving economy are expected to produce improved same store sales and higher earnings this year. A successful refocusing of its core automotive business will also contribute.

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Loblaw Companies Ltd.(L-TSX)

Low Inflation Environment and Accelerating IT Spend Restrain Near Term Growth Prospects - written by William J. Chisholm, CFA

February 26th, 2010
2009: Buoyed by a strong first half Loblaw’s net earnings rose 19% in 2009 while, due to an extra week in 2008, sales declined 0.2% to $30.7 billion. This strong performance reflected improved internal operations including procurement practices and distribution efficiencies.

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Rogers Communications Inc.(RCI.B-TSX)

Rogers Reports Q4 2009 Results and Provides 2010 Guidance - written by Troy Crandall

February 26th, 2010
Rogers reported in-line to slightly better than expected Q4 2009 results with revenue of $3.06 billion (+3.9% Y/Y) versus Street expectations of $3.06 billion. EBITDA was $1.10 billion (+13.7% Y/Y) versus consensus estimates of $1.09 billion. Adjusted EPS of $0.61 beat Street expectations of $0.56 and last year’s EPS of $0.26. EPS were helped by a combination of foreign exchange gains, lower depreciation and tax expenses, along with a lower overall share count versus last year.

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Russel Metals Inc.(RUS-TSX)

Fourth Quarter 2009 Results - written by Ian Nakamoto, CFA

February 26th, 2010
The company reported fourth quarter adjusted (excluding inventory write-down and asset impairment charges) earnings per share of $0.05 a share ($0.49 for the year) versus $0.87 a share ($3.67 for the year) for the same time last year.

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Methanex Inc.(MX-TSX)

Global Methanol Leader and Superior Free Cash Generator - written by Rob Mark, CFA

February 26th, 2010
MX is the global leader of the production, sales and marketing of methanol. The company controls over 15% of the market and has the best trading intelligence in the industry. MX will have total installed production capacity of 8.4 million tonnes per year by the end of 2010 from facilities in Trinidad, Chile, New Zealand and Egypt (Q2 2010).

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Brookfield Asset Management(BAM.A-TSX)

Fourth Quarter 2009 Results - written by Ian Nakamoto, CFA

February 26th, 2010
At year end the company reported its market value at $28.53 U.S. a share. See appendix 1 for details. The company has been very proactive not only managing its business in the credit crisis and economic downturn, but making investments/acquisitions during these difficult times which we feel will bear fruit (increase in net asset value) in the next several years.

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Thomson Reuters(TRI-TSX)

Fourth Quarter 2009 Results - written by Ian Nakamoto, CFA

February 26th, 2010
The company reported solid adjusted earnings of US$0.44 a share meeting consensus estimates but down from one year ago of US$0.50 a share. Despite the poor year-over-year comparisons, underlying fundamentals are improving.

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TransCanada Corporation(TRP-TSX)

TRP Raises the Dividend - written by Rob Mark, CFA

February 26th, 2010
TRP reported Q4 and year-end results this week. 2009 EPS came in at $2.03, $0.02 below our forecast. Results were hurt by lower than expected power prices in western Canada and dilution from the company’s two equity issues. This was offset somewhat by lower interest costs. On a positive note, the company raised its quarterly dividend by 5.25% to $0.40, which was directly in-line with our forecast.

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