Acquisition fuels SNC’s earnings

Article Excerpt

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $57 (Toronto symbol SNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares o/s: 175.4 million; Market cap: $10.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Divd. yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.snclavalin.com) is a leading Canadian engineering and construction firm specializing in large infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and water-treatment plants. The company recently paid $3.6 billion for U.K.-based engineering firm WS Atkins plc. It specializes in industrial projects such as railways, nuclear power plants, water-treatment facilities and highways. Excluding costs related to the purchase, SNC’s earnings in the third quarter of 2017 jumped 104.0%, to $136.7 million from $42.7 million a year earlier. Due to more shares outstanding, earnings per share rose at a slower 73.3%, to $0.78 from $0.45. Revenue gained 21.4%, to $2.6 billion from $2.2 billion. SNC-Lavalin is a hold. hold…