Two Canadian companies are breaking decades-old production records while simultaneously growing cash flow, and Bay Street is paying attention.
Mattr Corp. (TSX:MATR) and Ero Copper (TSX:ERO), are two resource plays that spent 2025 transforming their operations from the ground up. Let’s dive deeper.
Mattr’s transformation gains serious momentum
Mattr just wrapped up a four-year overhaul that included divesting nine businesses, reshaping its North American production footprint, and integrating AmerCable into its wire and cable portfolio.
The payoff hit in October.
Every single Mattr operation posted all-time monthly production records. The third quarter (Q3) showed the transformation taking hold. Revenue jumped 39% year over year to $314.9 million, while adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) grew 16% to $34 million, primarily driven by the AmerCable addition.
At its Flexpipe division in Texas, the company achieved record output while continuing to push larger-diameter products, which now represent nearly 50% of North American revenue.
The recently relocated Shawflex facility in Toronto set a new quarterly revenue record in Q3, demonstrating the location’s productivity and efficiency potential. The DSG facility in Ohio, despite some early challenges, has already surpassed the productive output of the Canadian facility it replaced.
The wire and cable business navigated early-year tariff chaos by rapidly rewiring its copper supply chain, avoiding what could have been $50 million in annual tariff costs.
That required accepting less favourable payment terms and carrying additional working capital, but management viewed it as a small price compared to the alternative.
Mattr’s Xerxes underground storage tank business continues to face overwhelming demand, with the order backlog hitting a new record high at the end of Q3. The business added approximately $100 million to its backlog over the past 12 months, representing somewhere between six and nine months of forward revenue.
Ero Copper discovers value hiding in plain sight
While Mattr was optimizing production, Ero Copper was literally finding gold in its own backyard. The company announced a maiden inferred resource of 24,000 tonnes of gold concentrate grading 37 grams per tonne, containing 29,000 ounces of gold. The material had been stockpiled at Xavantina for over a decade as a byproduct of processing operations.
Ero spent nearly a year sampling, testing, and characterizing the concentrate before shipping the first batch in late October. The first invoice cleared this week.
Operating costs should run $300 to $500 per ounce of gold, with 90% to 95% payability after deductions and treatment charges. At current gold prices near $4,000 per ounce, that’s a serious margin.
Ero expects to sell 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes of concentrate in Q4, with the full stockpile moving over the next 12 to 18 months. The concentrate estimate was based on sampling just 20% of the total stockpile volume.
What’s next for 2026?
Analysts tracking MATR stock forecast its free cash flow to improve to $168 million in 2029, compared to an outflow of $59 million in 2024. If the TSX stock is priced at 10 times forward FCF, it could triple from current levels over the next three years.
Bay Street projects Ero Copper’s free cash flow (FCF) to increase to $568 million in 2029, compared to an outflow of $274 million in 2024. If the mining stock is priced at 15 times forward FCF, it could double in the next three years.
