Updating Torstar Corp., Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., and Imperial Oil Ltd.

Article Excerpt

TORSTAR CORP. $13 (Toronto symbol TS.B) plans to restructure its newspaper operations. This will cost it $21 million, but should produce annual savings of $12 million. To put that in context, Torstar lost $0.04 a share (total $3.5 million) in the first quarter of 2008 largely from these restructuring costs. It earned $0.20 a share ($15.7 million) in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue fell 6.8%, due to slowing advertising revenue in Ontario. However, Torstar’s expanding Internet operations help diversify its revenues. Best Buy. MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $41 (Toronto symbol MBT) earned $0.84 a share before unusual items in the first three months of 2008, up 5.0% from $0.80 a year earlier. Strong growth from its wireless, TV and Internet services will help the company offset lower revenue from its traditional phone operations, and help it keep paying its $2.60 dividend (6.3% yield). Best Buy. IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $57 (Toronto symbol IMO) earned $0.75 a share in the latest quarter, down 7.4% from…