Saskatchewan's Crown corporation sector successfully met the challenges of increasing demands for services in 2009, while posting positive earnings and providing an increased dividend to the provincial treasury.
On a consolidated basis, Crown Investments Corporation (CIC) and its subsidiaries earned a profit of $348.7 million on revenue of $4.7 billion in 2009. Earnings from ongoing operations were $15.9 million higher than in 2008.
"It was an exciting, albeit challenging year in our Crown sector for CIC and its subsidiary Crown corporations as the demand for services continued to grow," Minister responsible for Crown Investments Corporation June Draude said.
In 2009 CIC's earnings as a holding company, which are recorded as non-consolidated earnings, were $176.7 million, down $572.6 million from 2008. However, the proceeds from the sale of New Grade and Saskferco enabled CIC to pay an above-average dividend of $755 million to the GRF for 2009.
"Thanks to the financial health of the Crown sector, we were able to provide a substantial dividend to the GRF and the Crowns invested in an unprecedented capital program to upgrade infrastructure and keep pace with growing demands, led by SaskPower, SaskTel and SaskEnergy," Draude said. "The capital program also helped stimulate the Saskatchewan economy during the economic slowdown."
Other highlights for CIC and the Crown sector in 2009 include:
- Placement of 90 interns in the Crowns in 2009 under the Gradworks internship program, which provides work experience and mentorship for recent post-secondary graduates. From the program's inception in 2004 to the end of 2009, there have been 398 internships. Nearly 84 per cent of those who have completed their internships have stayed in Saskatchewan, with 54 per cent employed in the Crowns and 30 per cent employed in other companies.
- In 2009, the CIC Aboriginal Bursary Program was expanded to include the U of S, SIIT and SIAST as well as the University of Regina and First Nations University of Canada. Qualifying students can receive $2,500 per semester or $5,000 per full academic year. In 2009, 67 bursaries were awarded for the winter semester and 50 for the fall semester. From the program's inception in 2004 to the end of 2009, 531 bursaries had been awarded;
- Continued stability in the debt-to-equity ratio which was 47.6 per cent;
- In 2009, SaskPower, SaskEnergy and SaskTel cumulatively invested more than $1.2 billion in utility infrastructure in Saskatchewan;
- Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation and SaskTel became the first Canadian government agencies to join The Climate Registry, a voluntary emission reporting and tracking system to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions consistently across industry sectors and borders.
- Operational efficiency was a priority to help improve services and reduce costs. Initiatives included: looking at amalgamating similar or overlapping Crown activities/services; the sale of non-core assets and the wind up of Crowns such as Investment Saskatchewan; and CIC implemented a tighter review process in 2009 for capital tenders, Requests for Proposals and vehicle purchases.
- Increased demand for many Crown corporation services.
CIC's 2009 Annual Report is available online at www.cicorp.sk.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Debbie Clark
Crown Investments Corporation
Regina
Phone: 306-787-5451
Email: dclark@cicorp.sk.ca
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