Article content

Here are a few quick stats culled from the FP500

Total revenue reported by the FP500 as a group was $2.33 trillion, up roughly $140 billion from last year’s total of $2.19 trillion, with the average FP500 company reporting revenue of $4.67 billion, up from $4.38 billion a year ago. The average profit of the 394 companies that reported such figures was $455 million, with 79 of those companies reporting a loss, compared to $532.3 million a year ago. The average value of assets held by the 425 companies that reported them was $28.5 billion, up from $26.5 billion, though both numbers are somewhat skewed by the Big Five bank holdings. The FP500 revenue cut-off this year is $428.7 million, compared to $422.9 million last year. Fredericton-based New Brunswick Liquor Corp. is No. 500, rising from No. 505 last year.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

FP500: The premier ranking of Corporate Canada Back to video

There are 277 publicly traded companies on the FP500, of which 267 trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Four companies solely trade on the New York Stock Exchange and six are on Nasdaq. However, there are 80 cross-listed TSX companies, including 63 on the NYSE, 13 on Nasdaq and four on the AMEX. The rest of the FP500 is composed of 162 private companies, 44 Crown corporations and 17 co-ops. None of the FP500 companies trade on the TSX Venture, but 18 on the FP800 do, the largest of which is Calgary-based investment firm Mosaic Capital Corp. (No. 519) with $397.5 million in revenue.

Article content continued

Crowns abound

There are 44 Crown corporations on the FP500 and six of them lost money in their most recent fiscal year. A few of the money losers are financial companies required to do mark-to-market accounting, which, much like the insurance companies, doesn’t help when interest rates are rising, though it looks better on paper when rates are low. The average Crown corporation on the FP800 makes $3.16 billion in revenue and turns a $944.55-million profit with assets of $29.06 billion, all just a notch or two behind the average FP500 corporation. One of the six that lost money — compared to four last year — was Canada Post Corp., which finally slipped into the red after turning profits of $81 million and $96 million in the previous two years. Expect more increases in the price of stamps.

Coming out party

Nine companies have joined the FP500 database and made the cut while 28 have graduated from the FP800. The highest-ranked newcomer is Quebec City-based iA Financial Corp. Inc. (No. 58), though it is really only the successor company to Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., a long-time stalwart on the FP500. Other notable newbies include Toyota Canada Inc. (No. 64), Mattamy Asset Management Inc. (No. 145) and IPL Plastics Inc. (No. 367). The highest-ranked graduate from the FP800 database is Calgary-based Balancing Pool, which manages Alberta’s electricity sector. It rose 344 spots to No. 398 from No. 742. Other big movers include Pretium Resources Inc., up 213 spots to No. 431, and Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd., up 194 places to No. 468. Five of the 28 graduates are in the energy sector, with International Petroleum Corp. (No. 429) making the biggest move, and three are gold miners, with Pretium being the highest ranked of them.

Article content continued

Exceptions that provethe rule

Any large data set is bound to have anomalies, especially when dealing with growth numbers. For example, Advanz Pharma Corp. (formerly Concordia International Corp.) is No. 1 on the Profit Growth, Profit Margin and Return on Asset rankings, yet the pharmaceutical maker’s revenue decreased 14.4% to $695.9 million and its FP500 ranking dropped 29 places to No. 402. The reason: its US$1.9-billion profit included a US$1.93 billion gain on a debt and purchase consideration settlement. Excluding that paper gain, Advanz lost US$163.3 million. Shareholders certainly took note: Advanz was trading at around $23 at the end of April 2019, down from $177 a year earlier. Other big changes are due to small absolute denominators. For example, Element Fleet Management Corp.’s 11,966.7% five-year profit growth and Canadian Commercial Corp.’s one-year 2,291% decline in profit are due to the small absolute value of their fiscal 2013 net income and fiscal 2017 net income, respectively. On another note, all Crown corps are excluded from all Profit Leaders lists. After all, running monopolistic lotteries and liquor stores tends to rack up the profits given that governments tend to leave small (even negative) equity values after they raid their coffers.

Green day hasn’t arrived … yet

Although the Canadian cannabis market could be worth as much as $5 billion a year by 2021, according to a report by Brightfield Group, none of the industry’s licensed producers currently make enough money to crack the FP500. Even collectively, $5 billion in revenues would not be enough to crack the top 100 and the industry is much smaller at the moment, with Brightfield pegging total sales between legalization day on Oct. 17, 2018, and the end of the year at approximately $210 million. None of the industry’s biggest players, Canopy Growth Corp., Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Aphria, are on a run rate to crack the list next year, either. But if you’re into fine print, you’ll find Aurora on line 411 of the main ranking, since it owns 24.8% of Alcanna Inc., the Edmonton-based booze and bud retailer that changed its name from Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd. in May 2018.

Article content continued

Class of ’18 Dropouts

Thirteen companies dropped out of the FP500 into the Next 300, with Aimia Inc. posting the biggest decline. The Montreal-based loyalty program operator fell 456 spots to No. 697 after it sold its flagship program, Aeroplan, back to Air Canada, which started the program in 1984 and then spun it out into a separate company in 2005. Aimia earned $497 million from the sale, but $308 million of that was used to pay down debt and $100 million is being held in a restricted cash account because Canada Revenue Agency is auditing its 2012 and 2013 taxation years. All told, Aimia posted just $167 million in revenue last year, compared to $1.62 billion in 2017. Other notable fallers include Thornhill, Ont.-based systems integrator OnX Enterprise Solutions Ltd. (down 237 spots to No. 612), Toronto-based insurer Ivari (down 234 places to No. 561) and Calgary-based pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. (down 117 spots to No. 524).

Game of groans

Being an insurer would seem to be boring, except when natural disasters strike, but their revenues often wildly gyrate because mark-to-market accounting rules force them to include realized and unrealized gains or losses on their assets — the value of which generally rise when interest rates are low and drop when rates rise — in their revenue. That’s one reason why companies such as Manulife Financial Corp. always groan when ranked by such a metric, especially since FP Data Group, the data provider that keeps track of the FP500 database of 800 companies, follows these International Financial Reporting Standards. Manulife, the FP500’s No. 1 company for the past two years, slipped to No. 10 this year as interest rates finally began sneaking upward and its IFRS-compliant revenue figure dropped 33.2%. Sun Life Financial Inc., meanwhile, dropped two spots to No. 15 as its revenues dropped 8%. A better measurement of an insurer’s health: core earnings, the industry says. For example, Manulife’s core earnings increased 23% in 2018 to $5.6 billion. The differences in reporting financials are an accountant’s dream, but can be an insurance company’s nightmare.

Article content continued

Marco … Polo

Aside from iA Financial Corp. Inc., the FP500 generally treats a corporate name change as a continuation of operations rather than the creation of a new company. The same goes for mergers and acquisitions. For example, restaurant chain owner Cara Operations Ltd. in July 2018 became Recipe Unlimited Corp. (No. 54 on the Largest Subsidiaries ranking) after announcing it would change its name when it merged with Keg Restaurants Ltd. earlier that year. NFI Group Inc. (No. 151), the largest bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, was known as New Flyer Industries Inc. until changing its name in May 2018. NFI also tickles our fancy because its primary shareholder is Marcopolo SA, a Brazilian bus and coach manufacturer founded in August 1949 in Caxias do Sul. Back then, Marcopolo was called Nicola & Cia Ltd., but we can all agree that Marcopolo has a certain familiar ring.

Big city lights, small town heights

People outside Toronto like to believe that Torontonians think they live in the centre of the universe, or Canada at the very least. But as far as corporate concentration goes, Toronto is it. The country’s biggest city is home to 118 of the FP500 companies, by far the largest number. Add in the suburbs — Mississauga, Markham, Brampton, etc. — and the number of companies rises to 181. Put another way, more than a third of the FP500 is either in Toronto or within a 30-minute drive of its borders, though it clearly takes much longer than that to get downtown, especially during rush hour. On the flip side, potash miner Mosaic Canada ULC calls Belle Plaine, Sask., home along with 85 people, and Bruce Power Ltd. Partnership has set up its nuclear headquarters in Tiverton, Ont., population 725. Perhaps more impressive, Kingsey Falls, Que., population 2,000 and about 150 kilometres east of Montreal, is home to two FP500 companies: pulp and paper producer Cascades Inc. and power utility Boralex Inc.

Article content continued

Feeling bubbly

AGCO Canada Ltd. just missed cracking the FP500, coming in at No. 501 with revenue that rose 10.6% to $426.4 million, good enough to jump 20 spots from last year. The private Regina-based manufacturer of agricultural equipment such as combines, tractors and balers under brand names like Massey Ferguson, Challenger and Fendt was formed in 1990 when Deutz-Allis executives bought out the North American operations of Kl?ckner-Humboldt-Deutz (KHD), a German company. Last year’s No. 501, Vancouver-based Trevali Mining Corp. continued its ascent, rising 40 spots to No. 461, with the base metal miner’s revenue increasing 20.5% to $506.7 million. If you want to explore the rest of the FP500 database, including the Next 300 as well as thousands of other companies, contact FP Data Group.

Guide to using the FP500

The Financial Post 500 has been compiled by a team of researchers employed by Financial Post Data, a business unit of Postmedia Network Inc. An electronic version of this product is available for $199 at www.infomart.com/fp-products/, e-mailing cyeow@postmedia.com or calling 1-800-661-POST (7678).

COMPANIES LISTED Canadian and worldwide operations of companies incorporated or based in Canada.

RANK Companies are generally ranked on a descending basis by revenue. Some supplementary tables are ranked by other factors, such as profitability. The ranking category is always highlighted.

Article content continued

HEAD OFFICE Head office locations are listed beside company names.

FISCAL YEAR END A company’s fiscal year end, if not December 2018, is noted next to the head office location.

INDUSTRIES Industry codes for companies in the FP500, Subsidiaries, Financials and Crown corporation rankings are listed in each table. The key to industry codes is listed below.

N.A. This abbreviation, used throughout the listings, means not available or not applicable.

REVENUEIncludes goods, services and rental revenues. Excluded are non-operating revenues (e.g., dividends, interest, equity income). Excise taxes and royalty payments applicable to mining, oil and gas companies, distillers and tobacco manufacturers are also excluded. For banks, credit unions, trust companies and other investment companies, revenue consists of interest, investment income and other operating revenue. Insurance company revenue comprises premium and investment income.

PROFIT Net income attributable to equity holders where applicable.

EARNINGS PER SHARE Per basic common share or equivalent as reported by the company and adjusted for share splits and consolidations.

RESTATED RESULTS Previous year’s rankings are not restated. However, percentage changes in revenue, assets and profit when applicable are based on restated figures.

PROFIT (LOSS) AS % OF REVENUE Profit (loss) for the fiscal year as a percentage of revenue.

PROFIT (LOSS) AS % OF ASSETS Profit (loss) for the fiscal year as a percentage of average assets at the latest two fiscal year ends.

Article content continued

PROFIT (LOSS) AS % OF EQUITY Profit (loss) for the fiscal year as a percentage of the average shareholders’ equity at the latest two year ends.

FIVE-YEAR PROFIT % GROWTH Percentage change from the profit (loss) reported in the fiscal year five years prior to the profit (loss) reported in this year’s FP500. Generally, this is fiscal 2013.

SHARE-PRICE CHANGEPercentage change in the company’s share price for the one and five years ended April 23, 2019. Share-price changes for companies only listed in the U.S. are based on Canadian-dollar equivalents.

FIVE-YEAR REVENUE% GROWTH Percentage change from the revenue reported in the fiscal year five years prior to the revenue reported in this year’s FP500. Generally, this is fiscal 2013.

MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS Individuals or organizations with a voting interest of 10% or more. Where space permits, the two largest shareholders are listed. Status is updated through April 23, 2019.

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP Percentage ofdisclosed registered foreign ownership of voting interests is shown if it is 10% or more. If no foreign country is indicated, the ownership is Canadian.

TICKER The company’s stock symbol on Canadian or American stock exchanges. Where a company has multiple stocks, the primary Canadian stock is used. If the company isn’t listed on an exchange, the following symbols are used: (Priv) = Private; (Coop) = Co-operative; (Crn) = Crown. Crown companies are defined by type of incorporation, not ownership. Consequently, companies such as Alectra Inc. and Toronto Hydro Corp. are classified as (Priv) rather than (Crn).

Article content continued

EXCHANGE LISTINGS Only stock exchanges in Canada and the U.S. are noted. The following symbols are used to identify stock exchanges: T = TSX; V = TSX Venture Exchange; N = New York; Q = Nasdaq; A = American.

CURRENCY CONVERSION U.S. dollars are converted into Canadian dollars. The average rate for the company’s fiscal year is used to convert income-statement items (e.g., revenue, profit) and the closing rate is used to convert balance-sheet items (e.g., assets, shareholders’ equity).

DOUBLE COUNTING Double counting on the FP500 is avoided by excluding subsidiaries whose accounts are consolidated with those of the parent company (except the Market Capitalization list). For example, Loblaw Cos. Ltd.’s results are consolidated with those of George Weston Ltd. However, Loblaw is listed separately in the subsidiaries table.

MULTIPLE LISTINGS Companies, other than subsidiaries, are shown first on the FP500 listings and then on other appropriate lists. For example, Insurance Corp. of British Columbia is on the FP500 list and, because it is a Crown corporation engaged in property and casualty insurance, also on the Crown Corporations and the Insurance: Property and Casualty lists. Likewise, a subsidiary may appear on other appropriate lists, but only if its parent is not shown on the same list (again, excepting Market Capitalization).