With one of the world’s richest mineral locations as their home, it is no wonder that the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture (TSXV) are so popular with mining companies and investors, with more mining companies listed there than any other exchange in the world.
Solid start to 2023
Owner, TMX Group, recently announced its financing activity for the TSX and TSXV for February 2023.
TSX welcomed 14 new issuers in February 2023, compared with 15 in the previous month and 11 in February 2022. The new listings were 11 exchange traded funds, two oil & gas companies, and one mining company.
Total financings raised in February 2023 increased 20% compared to the previous month, but were down 62% compared to February 2022. The total number of financings in February 2023 was 37, compared with 38 the previous month, and 38 in February 2022.
The TSXV also welcomed seven new issuers in February 2023, compared with one in the previous month, and 13 in February 2022. The new listings were six capital pool companies and one financial services company.
Total financings raised in February 2023 increased 34% compared to the previous month and were up 9% compared to February 2022. There were 97 financings in February 2023, compared with 133 in the previous month, and 93 in February 2022.
Recent mining listings have included: Lithium Royalty Corp. (LIRC); Eloro Resources Ltd. (ELO); Discovery Silver Corp. (DSV); and Probe Gold Inc. (PRB).
Representatives of the 2023 TSX Venture 50 companies recently joined TMX executives and other special guests to open the market and to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2023 Venture 50 winners and the official release of the 2023 list.
The 2023 TSX Venture 50 winners were selected based on year-over-year performance across three equally weighted criteria: growth in market capitalization, share price appreciation, and value traded for the year ended 31 December, 2022.
In early March, representatives from the Canadian mining sector joined John McKenzie, chief executive officer of TMX Group, to open the market, in celebration of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2023 Convention. International companies, energy, and mining issuers defied market trends to lead TSX Venture Exchange in 2023.
The TSXV recently released the 2023 Venture 50, highlighting the top-performing companies from Canada and around the world, that are driving growth across their respective sectors.
The Venture 50 showcases TSXV issuers across five sectors: energy, mining, clean technology and life sciences, diversified industries, and technology. The ranking is an equal weighting of each firm’s performance during 2022 across three key indicators: market capitalization growth, share price appreciation, and trading volume.
“This year’s results highlight the critical role that TSXV plays in ensuring that growth-stage companies can continue to access the capital they need to build and expand their businesses,” said Loui Anastasopoulos, CEO, Toronto Stock Exchange and global head, capital formation, TMX Group.
“The 2023 Venture 50 includes companies from across Canada as well as nine international issuers, reflecting the impressive global reach of our venture markets as we continue to broaden and diversify our dynamic ecosystem.”
“TSXV is pleased to be able to provide investors with the opportunity to invest in the best and brightest small cap companies, across a range of various sectors, and from regions across the world.”
The 2023 Venture 50 companies delivered an average financial return of 73% and saw an average market capitalization increase of 145%. Performance was especially strong among mining and energy companies, which grew 174% and 89% respectively, compared to 34% combined growth among other sectors.
Canadian companies from a cross-section of sectors and regions, representing five provinces, make up the majority of the 2023 winners, demonstrating the TSXV’s importance to Canada’s economic growth. The 2023 list also highlights the unique international opportunities available to Canadian investors through public venture capital. This includes Sigma Lithium (SGML), a Brazilian mining company with projects located in the state of Minas Gerais. Sigma led this year’s Venture 50 list with a 250% market capitalization increase and a 193% increase in its share price. Issuers from the Netherlands and several American states round out the international contingent of this year’s Venture 50.
“We congratulate this year’s Venture 50 companies for their resilience and leadership in delivering value to investors in a challenging macroeconomic environment and through difficult market conditions. While that’s most evident among the mining and energy firms in this year’s list, there were several highlights across all sectors that speak to the importance of venture capital regardless of economic conditions,” Mr Anastasopoulos said.
Highlights from across the sectors included:
- Key role of Latin America: Half of the mining companies on this year’s list hold properties in Latin America, a signal of the region’s importance for base and battery metals.
- Resurgent Canadian energy firms: Domestic oil and gas companies were seen as a source of energy security over the past year, maintaining strong fundamentals supported by robust commodity prices.
- Return to value: Investors in diversified industries pivoted away from growth stocks to value-oriented companies that increased revenue and cashflow from operations and reported strong earnings. These companies spanned a variety of sectors including agricultural materials, construction, retail, financial services, and media.
- Moving beyond SaaS: Amid a challenging market for the technology sector, investors sought value in hardware as well as software. They also looked to companies in a variety of geographic regions, resulting in a top 10, that includes companies from the Netherlands, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, California, and Texas.
- Growth of clean tech: Volatile pricing in traditional energy markets led to strong growth for clean tech companies, particularly transition-focused firms producing alternative fuels.
Impressive stats
The TMX says companies benefit by having greater access to capital, visibility of transactions, analyst coverage, specialized indices, and tailored listing requirements for all sizes of companies.
The TSX is the 10th biggest exchange in the world, and the second biggest in North America (behind NYSE and Nasdaq).
According to the TMX Group, 40% of the world’s public mining companies are listed on TSX and TSXV – and with the number of new miners queuing up to join both boards, it doesn’t look like it will lose its mantle anytime soon.
According to TMX, the TSX has a total market cap of around C$3.5T, compared to the ASX’s A$2T (C$1.85T).
The sectoral makeup of the TSX is similar to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) – with financials, mining, and energy being the three largest sectors.
TMX recently released some impressive stats including:
- 48% of all global mining financings past five years
- 36% of all global mining equity capital raised past five years
- C$7.6B mining equity capital raised in 2022
- Number one globally in new mining listings
- 52 new mining listings in 2022
- C$521B of mining market capitalization
- 174% increase in V50 2023 average mining share price performance
- 288% V50 2023 average mining market cap increase
- Almost 44B mining company shares were traded on exchanges in 2022
- More than 250 global analysts cover TSX and TSXV-listed mining companies and approximately 40% of all trading originates outside of Canada
- From 2000 to 2022, more than 300 mining companies graduated from TSXV to TSX
TMX reported that TSX/TSXV mining companies have raised C$44B in the past five years through over 6,700 financings. This represents 48% of the number of public mining financings completed and 36% of the mining equity capital raised globally.
