Export Development Canada’s (EDC) customers experienced a challenging year in 2015 as opportunities to maintain or grow their international business declined as a result of turbulent global market conditions. The Crown corporation today released the following highlights from its 2015 business results.
“In this slower growth environment, the drive to sustain growth in exports and foreign investments became more challenging as Canadian companies searched further afield for new opportunities. We saw our customers rebalancing priorities and making choices to continue to engage internationally in 2015. They needed the right financial solutions to follow them wherever business was happening,” said Benoit Daignault, President and CEO. “EDC stretched the parameters of several of our solutions, both for financing and risk management, to remain relevant to Canadian companies needs and, overall, took on higher levels of risk to support our customers in the markets and sectors in which they were active.”
More than 7,300 Canadian exporters and investors used EDC’s products and services to transact more than $104 billion in international business in 2015. EDC’s business activity reflects the increased demand for financial solutions by Canadian companies and their foreign buyers amid a period of decreased private sector appetite.
The commercial Crown corporation is the leading provider of financing and insurance for small- and medium-sized Canadian companies engaging in international trade. With up to 20% of Canada’s export trade supported by EDC’s services in a given year, its business results reflect the pulse of the nation’s international business.
“This past year, the ongoing economic volatility created additional risks for exporters – making it even more important to have access to the financial products they needed to close their hard-won deals and develop relationships,” said Ken Kember, Senior Vice-President, Finance and Technology Group and Chief Financial Officer. “While this volatility led to growth in our insurance claims and higher provisions for credit losses, we earned a net income of $925 million and have maintained a strong balance sheet. This strength allows us to continue to support Canadian companies through difficult times, and at the same time allows us to pay a $500 million dividend to the Government.”
EDC’s 2015 business activities helped facilitate $66.8 billion of Canada’s GDP and sustain 530,839 jobs.
Central to EDC’s business focus are the following four key areas that bring the greatest value to Canadian exporters and investors:
- providing a broad financial toolkit for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- 7% increase in SME business transactions, reaching 4,280 o 14% increase in total business facilitated for SME customers, reaching $15.5 billion o 22.5% of that business was in emerging markets
- enabling Canadian business in emerging markets
- 1% increase in business facilitated, reaching $29.2 billion
- Canadian companies access 142 countries with emerging economies using EDC’s services
- facilitating Canadian direct investment abroad (CDIA)
- 65% increase in the total volume of Canadian foreign investment that EDC helped facilitate, reaching $12.4 billion
- 7% increase in the number of transactions in support of CDIA, reaching 372
- creating opportunities to connect Canadian companies with foreign buyers
- EDC led 26 matchmaking events in 2015 that resulted in more than 1,150 introductions between approximately 130 foreign buyers and about 450 Canadian suppliers (65% of which were SMEs)
- EDC develops relationships with large foreign companies with supply chain opportunities that match up well with Canadian capabilities. These foreign companies procured from more than 1,420 Canadian exporters in 2015, more than 990 of whom were SMEs.
“As trade accounts for nearly 60% of Canadian GDP, our national economy will be depending on exports to grow in the near term,” added Daignault. “Canada’s trade enablers like EDC, the Trade Commissioner Service, Canadian Commercial Corporation and the Business Development Bank of Canada have been stepping up and working more closely together to better serve Canadian companies.”
EDC released these highlights of its 2015 corporate results today following a meeting of the Board of Directors. A complete Annual Report will be released in the second quarter.
