teck resources

Teck’s shares have rebounded strongly since falling to $3.65 in January 2016. That’s mainly because the company is doing a good job holding down its costs while it waits for metallurgical coal, copper and zinc prices to recover. The direction of commodity prices depends on many things, particularly economic growth rates around the world. Still, we feel Teck’s lower costs and high-quality reserves put it in a strong position to rapidly expand its profits as prices stabilize. TECK RESOURCES LTD. $10 (Toronto symbol TCK.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 576.3 million; Market cap: $5.8 billion; Price-to sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.teck.com) is a leading producer of metallurgical coal, a key ingredient in steel making. Its six coal mines (five in B.C. and one in Alberta) account for 11% of global demand....

CANADIAN TIRE CORP., $129.83, Toronto symbol CTC.A, saw weaker sales in the latest quarter, as warmer-than-usual weather hurt demand for winter goods such as snow shovels and tires. Lower gasoline prices also dampened revenue at its gas stations. The company’s overall sales fell 7.5%, to $3.4 billion from $3.7 billion. Cost controls and lower marketing costs boosted company earnings, despite the revenue fall. In the three months ended January 2, 2016, the company earned $225.2 million, up 8.1% from $208.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 13.6%, to $3.01 from $2.65, on fewer shares outstanding, easily beating the consensus estimate of $2.55....

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD., $198.88, Toronto symbol CP, has offered to buy U.S.-based railway Norfolk Southern Corp. (New York symbol NSC). The combined firm would be North America’s largest railway, with more than 56,000 kilometres of track. Buying Norfolk would also give CP greater access to ports on the U.S. Gulf Coast and Atlantic Ocean. Norfolk shareholders would receive $46.72 U.S. a share in cash and 0.348 of a CP share (or roughly 50% in cash and 50% in stock). That would give them 41% of the combined company....

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD., $202.17, Toronto symbol CP, reported lower freight volumes in the latest quarter, mainly due to falling prices for oil and other commodities, but the railway still reported better-than-expected results. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, CP earned $427 million, up 6.8% from $400 million a year earlier. Per-share profits jumped 16.5%, to $2.69 from $2.31, on fewer shares outstanding. These results exclude unusual items, such as gains on asset sales. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $2.67. Revenue gained 2.3%, to $1.71 billion from $1.67 billion, also beating the consensus forecast of $1.69 billion....

SUNCOR ENERGY INC., $36.67, Toronto symbol SU, has launched a hostile all-stock takeover offer for Canadian Oil Sands (Toronto symbol COS). Canadian Oil Sands’ main asset is its 36.74% stake in the massive Syncrude oil sands development near Fort McMurray, Alberta. It also operates the project. Suncor already owns 12.0% of Syncrude, so buying Canadian Oil Sands would give it effective control, with a 48.74% stake. Equipment failures and other problems have hurt Syncrude’s production in the past few years, and Suncor feels its expertise running similar projects will help Syncrude improve its efficiency and profits....

SUNCOR ENERGY INC., $35.07, Toronto symbol SU, has agreed to buy an additional 10.0% of the Fort Hills oil sands project in northern Alberta from France’s Total S.A. Following the purchase, Suncor will own 50.8% of Fort Hills, while Total will hold 29.2%. Teck Resources (see below) will continue to own the remaining 20.0%. Owning a majority interest will make it easier for Suncor to cut costs and make other changes in response to low crude prices....

TECK RESOURCES LTD. $9.15 (Toronto symbol TCK.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 576.2 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.teck.com) and Goldcorp Inc. (Toronto symbol G) have agreed to merge their copper projects in Chile into a new 50/50 joint venture by the end of 2015.

The new venture will hold Teck’s proposed Relincho mine and Goldcorp’s El Morro project. The two properties are just 40 kilometres apart, so there are plenty of opportunities to cut overlapping costs. For example, the partners plan to transport ore from El Morro to Relincho for processing.

It would cost $3.5 billion U.S. to build these mines and related infrastructure (Teck’s share is $1.75 billion U.S.). However, their combined reserves would last 32 years.

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With both the price of gold and its share price declining, our outlook on senior mining stock Goldcorp as it pushes ahead with new projects.

Goldcorp, $16.78, symbol G on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 830.0 million; Market cap: $13.9 billion; www.goldcorp.com), is a senior gold producer that also mines silver and base metals. Goldcorp’s mines (wholly owned and jointly held) include Red Lake and two others in Canada; Penasquito and two more in Mexico; Marlin in Guatemala; Wharf in the U.S.; and Pueblo Viejo in the Dominican Republic. In addition, the company is developing eight other projects in four countries. In 2014, Goldcorp produced 2.78 million ounces of gold and 36.8 million ounces of silver. It expects to produce 3.3 million to 3.6 million ounces of gold this year....

TECK RESOURCES LTD. $9.15 (Toronto symbol TCK.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 576.2 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.teck.com) and Goldcorp Inc. (Toronto symbol G) have agreed to merge their copper projects in Chile into a new 50/50 joint venture by the end of 2015. The new venture will hold Teck’s proposed Relincho mine and Goldcorp’s El Morro project. The two properties are just 40 kilometres apart, so there are plenty of opportunities to cut overlapping costs. For example, the partners plan to transport ore from El Morro to Relincho for processing. It would cost $3.5 billion U.S. to build these mines and related infrastructure (Teck’s share is $1.75 billion U.S.). However, their combined reserves would last 32 years....