BTB Reit weathers the Storm but cuts Dividend

BTB Reit is a small but well managed reit mostly located in Quebec and eastern Ontario.It just reported it's second quarter results and they were lukewarm.Revenues grew by 3% or from $22.4 million to $23.1 million.This includes a loss of $.5 million resulting from the government program.Net Onsite Income grew 2% or from $12.2 to $12.4 million.Yet it had a net loss of 7% over Q2 2020.BTB tells shareholders that rent recovery was at 97% with rent deferrals being8% of the total collected.Surprisingly the occupancy rate went from 92.9% to 93.1% in these tough times.Furthermore the decrease in total debt  ratio went from 61.4 to 58.6%.So,in summary,solid management and a slight pick up in revenues has allowed BTB Reit to weather the storm but it felt that it had to cut it's dividend from $.035 to$.025 per month.This blog feels that this was the prudent thing to do as there will be capital left for organic growth.

    BTB has been active in 2020.It sold 5 properties and made gains on the 5.And it also made 4 acquisitions.Michel Leonard,the CEO,tells investors that $2 million in revenues were made above that for the 5 properties sold.Leonard also tells us that their weighted average interest rate fell from 3.93% to 3.75%.All these small improvements help to increase operational income or at least to reduce the decrease in op. income.To this end,adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) went from $4,884,000 to$4,237,000 in Q2 and from $9,754,000 ($.16/share) to $9,507,000 ($.15/share) in the first half. AFFO is the financial statistic that most investors rely on when analysing reits.

      Looking for Sunny Days

        This is a tough time in Quebec and eastern Ontario.And there is little doubt that BTB counts on the more stable incomes in Ottawa to prop up it's share price.But what lies ahead for BTB?It is going to have to sell off more of it's properties with high cap rates and some gross profit and find properties with low cap rates and lots of potential.For example, BTB tells shareholders that it sold a property on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal and the total proceeds were $22 million.But we do not know what the gross profit nor net profit(after tax) was here.Investors now need to see more acquisitions with low cap rates and more sales with high cap rates.It seems at this time that Michel Leonard is too focused on increasing the total assets of BTB Reit and not enough on increasing market capitalization.So this blog sees more "bad weather" before investors see "sunny days" coming from BTB Reit.

      http://www.canadianmoneysaver.com/ https://www.goodblogs.com/

 

The Price of gold rose 10% since July while Oceanagold shares fell by 35%

    The price of gold has risen dramatically throughout 2020.In July it was trading at below $1800 an ounce and now an ounce sells for $1940 for an almost 10% rise.On the other hand,in July Oceanagold was trading at a 52 week high of $4.01 per share.Now it trades at $2.62 per share for a steady drop over the 2 months.Now should be a good time to buy.But Oceanagold (OGC) has one problem that is dragging down the share price.It's large Didipio mine in the Phillipines has been closed down for most of the year.

     Production has been steady              

  However OGC has been busy during 2020.They have gotten feasibility studies on all mines which includes mines in New Zealand (north and south island),and U.S.A. They have also developped their Martha Underground Project and their new WKP mine.They have discovered an increase in mineral reserves at their large Macraes mine of 250,000 ounces.Oceanagold tells investors that  production guidance for 2020 will be 295,000 -345,000 ounces.And their Martha Underground project will commence in Q2 2021.

      The Didipio Mine

      The Didipio mine is being held up by concerns for the pandemic. According to a Manila website at this time there is no threat to OGC ownership but it needs an extension to it's operating permit.This website says also that apparently the Phillipines government believes that working in the mine could threaten the safety of the villages around the mine.Workers could bring the pandemic home with them and into the village.So at this time it seems that Oceanagold is awaiting a Covid -19 vaccine.However this blog believes that the Phillipines government could move faster on issuing a permit if they had a stake in the profitable Didipio mine.News on a covid-19 vaccine could send OGC back towards $3.25 per share.Selling the Phillipines government a small stake at a discount in Didipio might bring immediate news of a pending operational permit.Then OGC will surely head back to the $4.00 level.Especially if the price of gold beaks through the $2000/ounce level and this blog feels that it will soon.

      https://www.fool.ca/free-stock-report/release-evergreen/?source=ex9badeb10000006&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhvf6BRCkARIsAGl1GGj0oqEoaWxZHOM0Iw9H98KTrs4nHT3hZPGJYIz65_59ifRn4wlklbQaAnkoEALw_wcB;  http://www.canadianmoneysaver.com/

Mediagrif ends Job Search and Strengthens E-Commerce Business

       Mediagrif  (MDF)  has  restructured itself  considerably in the last 5 years.It was concentrating on digital advertising and then on job search.Now it has turned to SaaS and digital commerce.It also does some strategic sourcing.The transformation has been moderately successful and MDF has now cobbled a 5 year plan to move even further ahead in this growing area.

    Past Blogs

   This blog has made a number of blogs on other websites encouraging Mediagrif to expand it's niche.Blogs on Wordpress (Blogdaleup) and Google Blogger (Blogdaleupsome) have suggested that Mediagrif take on new areas even with low margins originally.Perhaps that's why they started LesPAC and other job search websites.But now they are firmly in  digital commerce and strategic sourcing.It may have been a good idea to keep some of their job search websites.But it is clear that MDF sees a vast,gropwing market in e-commerce.

   Revenue for the first quarter of 2021 was $21 million up by 8% over Q1 in 2019.While returning revenue was $ 16 million for a 11% increase.Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $2 million.However they reported a net loss of $1.2 million or ($.08) per share.

                            

      Throwing it All Away

    Mediagrif was always considered to be a technically superior company;their work was always professional and well-priced.And now they have changed their metier.But there was no need to close it all down nor give it away.It is this blog's opinion that there are other companies that might pay for these assets especially including Mediagrif expertise.With this in mind, this bog encourages MDF to ressurrect their job search websites and programs.This includes LesPAC or something new but close to it.There are other companies that need this kind of revenue,especially with Mediagrif assistanc,even a Mediagrif contract..This blog has encouraged a "combination" with technically inferior Tucows for some time.Tucows has substantial revenues and earnings but no growth potential.And little technical expertise.Why not fix up LesPAC and market it better?And then try to make some kind of deal(a sale or a contract) with a technical novice like Tucows?

     Mediagrif used to trade in 2017 at $22 a share.And it had a lot of valuable assets and staff.It's market capitalization was approaching $600 million.Now it is valued at about $125 million.But there are assets and staff that are undervalued.Investors should look for some news on a forthcoming deal with Tucows or another company with more earning and looking for new revenues.This will send MDF up to the $6-$7 area by year end.

               https://www.zacks.com/ https://www.mediagrif.com/

Dye and Durham goes Public with IPO

   Dye and Durham(DND) was a legal stationary and forms business that started in England in 1874.It evolved gradually and in the 1990s acquired several legal forms businesses.Then in 2014 it acquired Stanley Davis which is an software and technology firm and this changed the way DND did business.Now it provides a cloud-based platform for legal services and risk management services.On July 17 of 2020 it created one of the largest IPOs for the year at $150 million(CAD)The IPO price was at $7.50 a share.It's British shareholders picked up a chunk of the new shares to now own 35% of DND.Before the close on July 17,2020 the price had moved up to $13 a share.

      A Hot Summer

     DND has still not shown it's shareholders the first quarterly report.Likely that will be in October at the end of the quarter on  September30.But before it went public it had quite good news for shareholders to view.For example, revenues increased from $18 million in 2017 to $66 million in 2020.Adjusted EBITDA was $19 million for 2019.And for the 9 months ending March 31,2020 revenues increased 80% compared to the 9 months of 2019.Yet it's net loss went from $1 million in 2019 to $7.5 million in 2020.So the first quarter reporting will have negative e.p.s. until adjusted EBITDA climbs higher.This is the same trend seen in all the new online phenomenons- large increases in revenues but earnings trail behind at the first.Later the structure and expenses will be reduced and earnings will emerge.But shareholders certainly believe in the DND business as they have bid the share price from $7.50 on July 17 to it's present $27 in September.It certainly has been a hot summer for Dye and Durham.                  

      Fall is Coming

   The first day of fall will be on September 22.This blog sees a continuation of the price movement seen in August.So it is very likely that DND will be in the $30 price range before the quarterly report in October.It is indeed possible that Dye and Durham will show shareholders revenues of  $80 -$85 million for it's first quarter and $100-$110 million for the year.However the net loss may be as high as $10 million for the quarter and $12-$17 million for the year.It is also possible that DND makes another small acquisition in the real estate research area to expand it's market.The future seems rosy but the future price is hard to predict.               https://www.zacks.com/   https://www.goodblogs.com