Rainy weather blamed for dampened profits

A rainier-than-usual year in parts of Canada is messing with more than just vacation plans — it’s also being blamed for putting a damper on profits.

Over the past 90 days, Environment Canada said rainfall in Eastern Ontario has been about 75 per cent to 100 per cent above average, while the Greater Toronto Area has seen 25 per cent to 40 per cent more rain.

One company that has been affected is Cara Operations Ltd., which reported second quarter adjusted net earnings of $26.4 million on Monday, up 3.5 per cent from the same quarter last year.

A damp year has also affected the construction industry, with inclement weather weighing on outdoor projects.

In second-quarter financial results released last week, Toronto-based Aecon Group Inc. said rainfall had been a drag on its road-building business. The company reported revenue from its infrastructure segment of $235 million in Q2 — a $35-million drop from the second quarter of 2016 — despite a $14-million bump from social infrastructure.

The rain made for a tough construction climate, but a Raymond James research note last Friday said Aecon had weathered it “well.”

Vancouver-based CanWel Building Materials Group Ltd. reported an increase in forestry sales of 7.3 per cent, or $772,000, in its second-quarter financials. The firm suggested those sales could have been stronger, if not for troublesome weather that makes it difficult to reach some of its sites.

“Sales for the (forestry) segment were negatively affected by adverse weather conditions at the beginning of the second quarter of 2017 and did not recover to seasonal expectations until the mid-point of the quarter,” said CanWel in its second quarter filings.

The $11.3 million in forestry sales were a much smaller contributor to the company’s bottom line, as building materials revenue was $309 million in the second quarter. CanWel reported an overall 10.3-per-cent increase in its second-quarter revenues last week, to $320 million.