Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
Suncor Energy Inc. says it has decided to keep its Petro-Canada retail business, the company announced Tuesday, after a comprehensive review concluded Suncor was unlikely to receive the price it wanted for the chain.
Suncor undertook a review of Petro-Canada after reaching a deal earlier this year with activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP, which had expressed frustration with the company's performance.
At the company's investor day in Toronto on Tuesday, interim CEO Kris Smith -- who assumed leadership of the company following former CEO Mark Little's resignation in July -- said part of that review included inviting 17 different parties to submit expressions of interest in a possible purchase of the chain.
Smith said only a third of those approached were interested, and none were willing to pay what Suncor believes the chain is worth. (The company pegs Petro-Canada's net value at between $3.8 billion and $5.7 billion.)
"Upon review of the submitted proposals, it was clear that a premium valuation ... was not realistic," Smith said.
"Despite the strength and attractiveness of our retail business, there's limited appetite for an all-cash purchase at what we would consider a significant market premium."
Smith said as part of its review, Suncor also sought the opinions of investors, whose views on the benefits of retaining the retail network generally aligned with the feelings of management and the board.
"And that is that the Suncor retail business is a unique business with significant scale and an advantaged network," Smith said. "It is supported by broad consumer appeal and a market-leading brand."
Petro-Canada is currently the leading fuel brand in Canada with 18 per cent market share, and 1,600 locations in Canada. Smith said Suncor has concluded that rather than selling the chain off, the company's best move is to "retain and maximize" it through expanding strategic partnerships in non-fuel related businesses such as quick service restaurants, convenience stores, loyalty partnerships and electric vehicle charging networks.
Suncor believes that by working to improve its retail offering, it can boost earnings from its retail segment by 40 per cent by 2027, Smith said.
The decision to keep the retail business came as Suncor announced its production outlook and capital program for 2023.
Capital expenditures in 2023 are forecast to be between $5.4 billion and $5.8 billion.
The company says it expects total production next year is expected to be between 740,000 and 770,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Refinery throughput for 2023 is expected to be 430,000 to 445,000 barrels per day with refinery utilization between 92 and 96 per cent.
Refined product sales are expected to be between 550,000 and 580,000 barrels per day.
Phil Skolnick, an analyst with Eight Capital, said the 2023 guidance reflects rising capital expenditures as well as production estimates that came in below analysts' expectations.
He said he views Suncor's latest guidance as a negative that will likely weigh on the company's share price going forward.
"We maintain our sell rating," Skolnick said in a note.
On Tuesday, Suncor also updated investors on what it is doing to improve safety at its oilsands operations in light of a recent string of fatalities at work sites.
These efforts include reducing the size of its contractor work force by 20 per cent and increasing the number of supervisors, installing collision prevention and fatigue management technology across all of its mine sites by the end of 2023, and linking safety performance more closely with compensation.
"We know we have to do better. I'm confident we can achieve best-in-class safety throughout our entire company," Smith said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2022.
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
The Maple Leafs battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss.
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.