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SNC-LAVALIN ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR-END RESULTS FOR 2009
N.B.: All amounts indicated are in Canadian dollars.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (TSX:SNC) announced its results today for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2009.
For the fourth quarter 2009, net income increased to $98.7 million ($0.65 per share on a diluted basis), compared to $75.0 million ($0.49 per share on a diluted basis) for the comparable quarter in 2008. This increase mainly reflects higher contributions from the Power, Chemicals & Petroleum and Infrastructure Concession Investments segments, partially offset by lower contributions from the Mining & Metallurgy and Infrastructure & Environment segments.
For the year ended December 31, 2009, net income increased by 15.0% to $359.4 million ($2.36 per share on a diluted basis), compared to $312.5 million ($2.05 per share on a diluted basis) for the same period in 2008. The increase in net income for 2009 was mainly due to an overall increase in the gross margin-to-revenue ratio, primarily from the improved profitability in Packages activities, partially offset by a lower Services gross margin-to-revenue ratio and the expected lower level of activity in Packages. The main industry segment contributors to the increase in profitability for 2009 were Power and Infrastructure & Environment, partially offset by Chemicals & Petroleum and Mining & Metallurgy.
Year-to-date revenues for the year ended December 31, 2009 were lower, at $6.1 billion, compared to $7.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2008, mainly reflecting an anticipated decrease in the Packages revenue category.
“I am pleased with what was accomplished in 2009. Even in a sluggish economy, we increased our net income by 15%, surpassing our long-term financial objective, and we increased our cash position and maintained a strong revenue backlog. We also made investments and acquisitions that expand our market share and move our business strategy forward,” said Pierre Duhaime, President and Chief Executive Officer, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. “With a strong revenue backlog and diverse prospects in Canada and outside Canada, we expect our 2010 net income to be as high or higher than 2009.”
The Company’s balance sheet position remained solid, with cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 billion, compared to $988.2 million as at December 31, 2008. The increase mainly reflects cash generated from operations and the proceeds received from the issuance of 10-year unsecured debentures of $350 million, partially offset by cash used for investing activities.
Total revenue backlog for the Company’s four revenue categories: Services, Packages, Operations & Maintenance and Infrastructure Concession Investments, remained strong at $10.8 billion at the end of December 2009, compared to $10.2 billion at the end of September 2009 and $9.6 billion at the end of December 2008. At the end of December 2009, both Services and Packages backlog remained strong at $1.5 billion and $4.2 billion respectively.
The Company’s return on average shareholders’ equity was 27.3% for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2009, compared to 29.1% for the same period last year.
Given the positive outlook and the Company’s strong revenue backlog, the Board of Directors has increased the quarterly cash dividend by 13% to $0.17 per share, payable April 1, 2010 to shareholders of record on March 19, 2010. This represents the ninth consecutive year that the Company’s dividend paid per share has been increased. This dividend is an “eligible dividend” for income tax purposes.
SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) is one of the leading engineering and construction groups in the world and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure, and in the provision of operations and maintenance services. SNC-Lavalin has offices across Canada and in over 35 other countries around the world, and is currently working in some 100 countries.
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Reference in this press release, and hereafter, to the “Company” or to “SNC-Lavalin” means, as the context may require, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and all or some of its subsidiaries or joint ventures, or SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. or one or more of its subsidiaries or joint ventures. Statements made in this press release that describe the Company’s or management’s budgets, estimates, expectations, forecasts, objectives, predictions or projections of the future may be “forward-looking statements”, which can be identified by the use of the conditional or forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “expects”, “may”, “plans”, “projects”, “should”, “will”, or the negative thereof or other variations thereon. The Company cautions that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and that its actual actions and/or results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, or could affect the extent to which a particular projection materializes. For more information on risks and uncertainties, and assumptions that would cause the Company’s actual results to differ from current expectations, please refer to the section “Risks and Uncertainties” and the section “How We Budget and Forecast Our Results and Basis for Providing Financial Guidance”, respectively, in the Company’s 2008 Annual Report under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis”. The forward-looking statements herein reflect the Company’s expectations as at the date of this press release and are subject to change after this date.
Media Contact
Leslie QuintonSenior Vice-President, Global Corporate Communications
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
SNC-Lavalin Inc.
514-390-8000 x7354
leslie.quinton@snclavalin.com
Investors
Denis JasminVice-President, Investor Relations
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
SNC-Lavalin Inc.
514-390-8000 x7553
denis.jasmin@snclavalin.com