A significant increase in Canadian initial public offering activity and value in 2004 powered the market to its best showing since the record year 2000 according to the annual survey of IPOs by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

A total of 87 IPOs were successfully completed in Canada in 2004, up from 56 in 2003. The gross value of the IPO market grew in 2004 as well, totalling $6.2 billion, up from $4.6 billion the year before. In 2000, pushed by surging technology issues, the IPO market reached a record 101 offerings, worth $6.8 billion.

“2004 ended on a positive note with market strength in almost all sectors,” said Eric Slavens, IPO Services leader for PwC, in a release. “Another aspect of the IPO market in 2004 was the relative decline in income trust activity, a trend we identified at the beginning of the year.”

In 2004 only about 30% of IPO activity comprised income trusts, as opposed to almost 40% of the market in 2003 and over 50% in 2002. The total value of income trusts also declined to $3.3 billion in 2004 from $4.0 billion in 2003.

“No one factor appears to be responsible for the decline in income trust IPO activity,” Slavens said. “One of the reasons may be a lack of Canadian businesses that are an appropriate fit for the income trust structure. Another factor could be disappointments in this market, reminding investors that a trust is only as good as the business on which it is built. Also, there has been increased activity in the Mining sector where there have been no income trusts.”

The annual PwC IPO survey measures activity and gross value on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange.

The top IPOs of the year were from five different sectors. The largest, ING Canada in the Financial sector, was worth $906.9 million. Next were Atlantic Power Corp. in the Other sector, for $320 million; OPTI Canada Inc. in the Oil & Gas sector, worth $301.4 million; The Brick Group Income Fund in the Products sector, for $272 million; and Centerra Gold Inc. in the Mining sector, worth $253.2 million.

For the second year, Mining led all sectors in terms of activity, up substantively from 2003 with 26 IPOs, compared to 16 last year.

The full findings of the PwC survey of Canadian IPO activity from January to December 2004, and past IPO surveys, can be found at www.pwc.com/ca/ipo2004.