StatsCan has released quarterly financial statistics for enterprises. According to StatsCan, Canadian corporations earned $60.1 billion in operating profits in the fourth quarter of 2009, an increase of $4.4 billion, or 7.9% from the previous quarter.
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Fourth quarter 2009 (preliminary)
Canadian corporations earned $60.1 billion in operating profits in the fourth quarter, an increase of $4.4 billion, or 7.9%, from the previous quarter. This is still below the $77.3 billion high reached in the third quarter of 2008 as the economy headed into the downturn. This marked the second quarter of growth since the recent low of $50.2 billion reported in the second quarter of 2009.
Quarterly operating profits
Profits in the non-financial industries increased 4.4% from the third quarter to $44.8 billion in the fourth quarter, while profits in the financial industries reached $15.2 billion, up 19.7%. Overall, gains were widespread as 15 of 22 industries reported higher profits in the fourth quarter.
Energy profits up in the fourth quarter
Combined profits for the oil and gas, and petroleum and coal industries were up 8.6%, totalling $7.0 billion in the fourth quarter. Much of this gain came from rising oil prices and greater sales volumes. This marked the second straight quarter of growth, although profits were still below their peak of $16.7 billion reported in the third quarter of 2008.
Manufacturing profits continue to rise
Manufacturers reported a third consecutive quarter of increased profits. At $11.2 billion, fourth quarter profits reflected a 4.4% growth over the previous quarter. The top contributors were chemicals, plastics and rubber manufacturers, wood and paper manufacturers and primary metal manufacturers. However, motor vehicle and parts manufacturers tempered these gains with a decline in profits of $583 million.
Wholesale and retail profits up
Profits in the wholesale industry grew by 12.1% to $4.3 billion in the fourth quarter. Automotive product wholesalers and building materials and supplies wholesalers together accounted for almost half of that growth. Profits for retailers also grew, up 3.9%, to $3.4 billion.
Operating profits for financial industries on the rise
The 19.7% increase in profits for financial industries in the fourth quarter marked the second consecutive quarter of increase. Most of this growth came from the banks and insurance companies as their expenses declined.
Aggregate balance sheet and income statement data for Canadian corporations are now available in CANSIM. They are available at the national level for 22 industry groups.
SOURCE: Statistics Canada
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