The Week in Canadian Press Releases: 10 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the most newsworthy press releases from Cision Distribution this week

TORONTO, Aug. 2, 2024 /CNW/ - With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on Cision. To help journalists and consumers stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a recap of some major stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

Cision Canada - The Weekly Round-Up (PRNewsfoto/Cision Canada)

1. Tourmaline Delivers Strong Free Cash Flow in Q2 2024, Reduces Net Debt, Announces an Increase to Quarterly Base Dividend and Declares a Special Dividend 
   Second quarter average production was 561,787 boepd, a 13% increase over second quarter 2023 average production of 495,918 boepd and within the second quarter 2024 average production guidance range of 560,000-570,000 boepd, announced on May 1, 2024 - Second quarter cash flow⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ ("CF") of $755.1 million ($2.12 per diluted share⁽³⁾) on total cash capital expenditures⁽⁴⁾ of $294.1 million (EP expenditures⁽⁵⁾ of $306.6 million in Q2 2024), generating free cash flow ⁽⁶⁾ ("FCF") of $433.5 million for the quarter ($1.22 per diluted share). In 2024, the Company expects to generate CF of $3.4 billion⁽⁷⁾ ($9.62 per diluted share) and FCF of $1.3 billion ($3.63 per diluted share) on EP expenditures of $2.0 billion.
2. BCE reports second quarter 2024 results 
   "Bell's Q2 results reflect the Bell team's disciplined execution and continued ability to navigate an evolving marketplace," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada. "We're also making strides in our transformation from a telco to a tech services and digital media leader. Our expanding capabilities in cloud services, security and managed automation drove strong business solutions services revenue growth of 22% this quarter, and we're seeing momentum in 5G and IoT B2B solutions with mobile connected device net activations up 10.5% over 2023. On the Bell Media front, our advanced advertising solutions for clients drove a 35% increase in digital advertising revenue."
3. Tamarack Valley Energy Announces Q2 2024 Financial Results, Achieves Milestone to Increase Shareholder Returns and Provides Operational Update 
   Brian Schmidt, President and CEO of Tamarack stated: "Tamarack has been steadfast in our commitment to reducing debt, demonstrating operational excellence and delivering on our return of capital framework for shareholders. On a YoY basis, net debt has been reduced by ~$491MM or 36%. This reflects execution and delivery of results, driven by the successful transformation of the Company, that has enabled growth within our Clearwater and Charlie Lake core areas, where both plays delivered record high quarterly production in Q2/24. Leveraging our high quality heavy and light oil assets, Tamarack remains focused on execution of our strategic plan which underpins delivery of long-term value to our shareholders."
4. Lightspeed Announces First Quarter 2025 Financial Results and Raises Adjusted EBITDA Outlook for Fiscal 2025 
   Lightspeed Commerce Inc. ("Lightspeed" or the "Company") (TSX: LSPD) (NYSE: LSPD), today announced financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space. "Fiscal 2025 is off to a great start with first quarter revenues and Adjusted EBITDA exceeding outlook," said Asha Bakshani, CFO. "We have spent the last year expanding payments adoption and right-sizing our cost structure and that is reflected in our results today. We are now turning our focus to accelerating growth in our software business so that we can continue to pursue our goal of profitable growth."
5. History Suggests Stressful Times for the Canadian Housing Market 
   The Bank of Canada benchmark rate (BoC Rate) was cut on July 24, 2024, marking its second cut in the past two months. Given that government bond yields have also dropped, the current best fixed and variable mortgage rates, shown below, are at their lowest in the past 17 months. While some believe these low rates might boost the real estate market, recent history tells a more complex story. We at WOWA Leads analyzed mortgage payments for a new purchase versus income over the last 50 years in Canada to see if there is any correlation between home prices and drops in mortgage rates from their peaks.
6. Medline Canada announces expansion of Manitoba medical supplies distribution centre 
   Over the last decade, Medline Canada has expanded its supply chain network nationally while growing product offerings, capabilities and market share. Medline's expansion in Manitoba follows the company's recent opening of a 160,000-square-foot Western distribution hub in Rocky View, Alberta, just north of Calgary. The new Manitoba location, at 179 Westcreek Way in Rosser (25 km northwest of Winnipeg), will improve Medline's inventory flexibility, and efficiency and enhance service responsiveness to customers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
7. Reconafrica Enters Into Definitive Strategic Farm Down Agreement With BW Energy 
   Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. (the "Company" or "ReconAfrica") (TSXV: RECO) (OTCQX: RECAF) (Frankfurt: 0XD) announces  that, further to its announcement on July 16, 2024, it has entered into a definitive farm down agreement with BW Energy Limited ("BW Energy") (OSE: BWE) dated July 30, 2024, for the sale of a 20% working interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence 73 ("PEL 73"), in northeast Namibia. The terms of the agreement are as described in the press release dated July 16, 2024.
8. CIBC furthers its commitment to AI learning and research through the Vector Institute 
   CIBC is a founding sponsor of the Vector Institute, and since its inception in 2017 has played an ongoing role in helping to advance Canadian AI research. More recently the bank has participated in Vector's Dataset Shift Project, an industry-academia collaboration in response to the pandemic and the shifts that it brought about in consumer behaviour, and the bank hosted an AI Research: Trustworthy AI & MLOps panel featuring Vector, which explored principles and practices helping to guide the ethical development and management of AI systems. CIBC has also collaborated with Vector research to publish a paper at the EMNLP 2022 conference for Neural Agent Assistance for customer Service Support with language model and generative AI.
9. Super Heroes, Assemble! Marvel Fun is Coming to a Grocery Store Near You 
   Get ready to unleash your inner Super Hero as a cool Marvel trading card promotion comes to your neighbourhood grocery store. It's time to embark on an epic adventure filled with collectibles, games, and incredible prizes! "We're always looking for new and exciting ways to show our gratitude to Canadians and what better way to do that than with Marvel," said Mary MacIsaac, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Control Brands, Loblaw Companies Ltd. "Whether you're checking out our new flyer promotions, weekly special bonus offers on major brands or stocking up on Hit of the Month deals, Marvel will add more thrill and excitement to your regular trip to the grocery store."
10. Quimbaya Gold Announces Strategic Partnership for 100,000 Meters of Drilling 
    Quimbaya Gold Inc. ("Quimbaya Gold" or the "Company") (CSE: QIM) (OTCQB: QIMGF) is excited to announce the signing of a 5-year drilling contract with Independence Drilling S.A. of Colombia ("Independence"). The contract involves completing 100,000 meters of drilling across Quimbaya Gold's properties. As a significant strategic partnership, which took nearly ten months to finalize, it underscores Quimbaya Gold's commitment to advancing its exploration activities and creating value for its shareholders. Independence, a family-owned company, is highly reputable and the largest Colombian drilling company, with over 40 years of experience and a fleet of 47 rigs for oil & gas, mining, and water drilling.

Read more of the latest releases from Cision, see our resources for journalists, and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @cnwnews.

About Cision Canada

Cision is a comprehensive communications platform enabling more than 100,000 public relations and marketing professionals around the world to understand, influence and amplify their stories. As the market leader, Cision enables the next generation of communication professionals to strategically operate in the modern media landscape where company success is directly impacted by public opinion. Cision has offices in 24 countries through the Americas, EMEA and APAC, and offers a suite of best-in-class solutions, including Newswire, Brandwatch, Cision Communications Cloud® and Cision Insights. To learn more, visit www.cision.ca and follow @CisionCA on Twitter.

SOURCE Cision Canada

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