By Adriano Marchese
Stocks in Toronto were higher at midday Friday, on track for the S&P/TSX Composite Index to post a weekly drop of 2%. In the session, materials and tech services were the main gainers, while only commercial services, consumer services and producer manufacturing declined. Roots Corp. shares were trending lower after the Canadian outdoor lifestyle brand reported lower sales and deeper discounts in the third quarter, which affected margin and profit.
Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was 0.47% higher at 20063.93, and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 was up 0.44% at 1215.01.
Roots Corp.'s stock fell 14% to C$2.50 after it said third-quarter gross margin contracted by 4.3 percentage points to 56.5%, citing more pronounced discounting in the period compared with this time last year, and warned that it expects this to continue to affect sales and margins in the near term. Earnings fell to 2.2 million Canadian dollars ($1.6 million), compared with C$10.8 million in the prior-year period. Sales declined to C$69.8 million from C$76.3 million.
Other market movers:
Laurentian Bank of Canada shares were 6.3% higher at C$33.45 after the Canadian bank reported better-than-expected profit and increased its dividend for the fourth quarter.
ICPEI Holdings Inc. shares jumped 83% to C$3.85 after it said it agreed to sell itself to a consortium of investors led by Desjardins General Insurance Group Inc. at nearly double its recent share price to take the company private.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-09-22 1218ET
