Shares in Canwest Global Communications Corp. recovered somewhat today, one day after the Winnipeg-based media company reported a first-quarter loss and said it may have trouble keeping onside with creditors.
Bond-rating agency DBRS placed the media firm’s debt “under review with negative implications,” saying it “remains concerned that the company’s liquidity and financial risk profile could continue to be increasingly pressured.
“Unless the company can demonstrate significant and immediate measures to increase its profitability and to reduce its leverage, the company’s ratings are likely to be lowered at the conclusion of DBRS’s review.”
Nevertheless, Canwest stock rose three cents or nearly 6% to 55 cents after losing 28 cents or 35 per cent Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It is down from over $6 a year ago.
Canwest, owner of the Global Television network and Canada’s largest chain of big-city newspapers, reported a $33-million quarterly loss yesterday, as its advertising sales were eroded by a deteriorating economy.
That reversed a year-earlier profit of $41 million.
