SNC-Lavalin announces its results for the second quarter and six-month period ended June 30, 2014

• $126.7 million of net income attributable to SNC-Lavalin's shareholders for the first six months of 2014, compared to $15.9 million for the same period in 2013;
• 9.3% decrease in Selling, General and Administrative expenses, compared to the first six months of 2013 (8.9% decrease compared to the second quarter of 2013);
• 8.3% EBIT⁽¹⁾ margin on revenues for the first six months of 2014;
• $25.9 million of costs in the second quarter of 2014 related to the agreement to acquire Kentz, of which $20.4 million is a non-cash mark to market adjustment on a hedging instrument;
• $8.2 billion revenue backlog, in line with the end of 2013;
• Challenging legacy projects represent $601.9 million of backlog, a 17% sequential decrease;
• $853.2 million in cash and cash equivalents;
• Agreement to sell SNC-Lavalin's equity stake in AltaLink signed on May 1, 2014;
• Agreement to acquire Kentz Corporation Limited reached on June 23, 2014;
• 2014 EPS guidance range maintained at $2.80 to $3.05.
  
  

MONTREAL, Aug. 8, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (TSX: SNC) announces its results today for the second quarter and six-month period ended June 30, 2014.

"As we mentioned at our annual general meeting last May, 2014 is a year of rebuilding and we are continuing to make progress in that regard," said Robert G. Card, President and Chief Executive Officer, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. "During the second quarter, we continued to execute our previously announced growth strategy. The agreement to sell AltaLink and the proposed acquisition of Kentz are key milestones in SNC-Lavalin's strategic plan to transform into a Tier-1 global E&C company. Critical to this transformation has been the ongoing intense focus on addressing and resolving legacy internal structure and process issues and, in short order, repositioning the Company's growth and risk profile, including through these two significant transactions," he added.

Second Quarter Results
For the second quarter of 2014, SNC-Lavalin reported a net income attributable to SNC-Lavalin shareholders of $32.1 million ($0.21 per share on a diluted basis), compared to a net loss of $37.7 million (-$0.25 per share on a diluted basis) for the same period of 2013.

The Company reported a net loss from Engineering & Construction and Operations & Maintenance ("E&C") of $46.9 million, compared to a net loss of $104.7 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013. The net loss from E&C in the second quarter of 2014 is partly due to a non-cash unfavourable remeasurement (mark to market) of a foreign exchange hedge of $20.4 million, as well as $5.5 million of professional fees and other related costs, both related to the agreement to acquire Kentz announced on June 23, 2014 (the "Acquisition"). Without these acquisition-related costs, net loss from E&C in the second quarter of 2014 would have been $21.0 million. The resulting decrease of $83.7 million in the net loss from E&C in the second quarter of 2014, compared to the second quarter of 2013, was mainly due to a lower negative EBIT from the Resources, Environment & Water ("REW") and Infrastructure segments, partially offset by a lower contribution from the Power segment. The negative EBIT in REW in the second quarter of 2014 was mainly due to a negative EBIT in the Oil & Gas sub-segment, while the negative EBIT in Infrastructure was due to the Infrastructure & Construction sub-segment. The profitability of both sub-segments continues to be affected by legacy fixed-price projects. The net loss for the second quarter of 2013 mainly reflected a negative EBIT in the Oil & Gas and Infrastructure & Construction sub-segments, the former due to a non-cash provision of $70.1 million relating to a claim received alleging late penalties under a fixed-price project in Algeria, and the latter due to a non-cash provision of $47.0 million on a Libyan project which was reversed in the first quarter of 2014.

Net income from Infrastructure Concession Investments ("ICI") increased to $78.9 million, compared to $67.0 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013, mainly due to a higher net income from AltaLink and a higher dividend received from Highway 407, partially offset by a lower net income from Shariket Kahraba Hadjret En Nouss S.p.A. ("SKH"). The increase in net income from AltaLink is partly explained by an accounting requirement under IFRS, for which the Company has ceased to depreciate and amortize AltaLink's non-current assets starting May 1, 2014, resulting from the classification of AltaLink's assets and liabilities as held for sale at that date. Net income from SKH was lower in the second quarter of 2014, compared to the second quarter of 2013, as the latter included the positive impact of the resolution of uncertainties on the collection of past dividends during that period.

Revenues for the second quarter of 2014 were $1.7 billion, compared to $1.9 billion in the second quarter of 2013, as the increase in ICI revenues was more than offset by the decrease in E&C revenues.

Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014, decreased by 8.9% to $208.3 million, compared to $228.7 million for the corresponding period of 2013, mainly due to costs savings resulting from restructuring plans implemented in the second half of 2013 and the Company's continued effort to contain these costs under its Value Up program.

Year-to-Date Results
For the six-month period ended June 30, 2014, SNC-Lavalin reported net income attributable to SNC-Lavalin shareholders of $126.7 million ($0.83 per share on a diluted basis), compared to $15.9 million ($0.11 per share on a diluted basis) for the same period of 2013.

The Company reported a net loss from E&C of $16.1 million compared to a net loss of $86.1 million for the first six months of 2013. As explained above, the net loss from E&C is partly due to a non-cash unfavourable remeasurement (mark to market) of a foreign exchange hedge of $20.4 million, as well as $5.5 million of professional fees and other related costs, both related to the agreement to acquire Kentz, announced in the second quarter of 2014. Without these acquisition-related costs, the Company would have reported a net income from E&C of $9.8 million in the first six months of 2014. The resulting positive variance of $95.9 million in the net income from E&C in the first six months of 2014, compared to the same period of 2013, was mainly due to a positive EBIT from the Infrastructure segment, compared to a negative EBIT in 2013, and a lower negative EBIT from the REW segment, partially offset by a lower contribution from the Power segment.

The variance in the Infrastructure segment EBIT was mainly due to the reversal, in the first quarter of 2014, of a non-cash provision recorded in the second quarter of 2013 on a Libyan project within the Infrastructure & Construction sub-segment and to the recognition of additional costs in the first six months of 2013 related to a major hospital project. The profitability of this sub-segment continues to be affected by legacy fixed-price projects. The lower negative EBIT from the REW segment was mainly due to a lower negative EBIT in Oil & Gas, which was negatively impacted in the first six months of 2013 by a non-cash provision of $70.1 million recognized by the Company, relating to a claim received alleging late penalties under a fixed-price project in Algeria. The profitability of this segment also continues to be affected by legacy fixed-price projects. The lower contribution from the Power segment was mainly due to a decrease in revenues.

Net income from ICI increased to $142.7 million, compared to $102.0 million for the first six months of 2013, mainly due to a higher net income from AltaLink and higher dividends received from Highway 407, partially offset by a lower net income from SKH, as explained above.

Revenues for the first six months of 2014 were $3.4 billion, compared to $3.8 billion for the same period in 2013, as the increase in ICI revenues was more than offset by the decrease in E&C revenues.

"As we move toward closing each of our announced transactions, we are continuing to focus on our backlog, organizational structure and costs," said Robert G. Card. "We have recently been awarded higher quality projects and we have made significant progress on further reducing our SG&A expenses. There is still, however, a fair amount of headwind on our legacy projects, as these have not yet been completed, and there is more that we can do to reduce costs in our structure. We continue our efforts to build greater synergies and enhance efficiencies within our organization, and with the proposed acquisition of Kentz, we are optimistic that our long-term E&C performance is on track to improve."

SG&A expenses for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014, decreased by 9.3% to $395.1 million, compared to $435.7 million for the corresponding period of 2013. The decrease is mainly attributable to costs savings resulting from the Company's restructuring plans implemented in the second half of 2013 and the Company's continued effort to contain these costs under its Value Up program.

Cash and cash equivalents totalled $853.2 million as at June 30, 2014, compared to $1.1 billion at the end of December 31, 2013.

Revenue backlog totalled $8.2 billion at the end of June 2014, in line with the end of December 2013, as the increase in the Packages revenue backlog was offset by a decrease in O&M and Services. The Packages backlog increased by $413.7 million since December 31, 2013, despite a decrease of $300.7 million related to challenging legacy projects in the Company's backlog. The challenging legacy projects included in the Company's backlog, the large majority of which are in the hospitals sector, totalled $601.9 million as at June 30, 2014, a 17% decrease from $728.8 million as at March 31, 2014.

2014 Outlook
Although the Company is facing challenging markets, the 2014 Earnings Per Share ("EPS") guidance in the range of $2.80 to $3.05 is being maintained. This outlook does not take into account the eventual gain on the sale of the Company's interest in AltaLink, as well as the impact of the proposed acquisition of Kentz, announced on June 23, 2014, including all acquisition-related costs. The outlook is principally based on the expectations that challenges will continue in the Environment & Water sub-segment, as well as in the Infrastructure & Construction and Oil & Gas sub-segments, mainly due to certain challenging legacy projects, and in the Mining & Metallurgy sub-segment, which continues to be affected by the softening of the commodity markets. It is also expected that the ICI segment and the O&M sub-segment should increase their contributions. This outlook assumes that SG&A expenses will continue to decrease, mainly as a result of new initiatives and ongoing activities associated with SNC-Lavalin's company-wide Value Up profit improvement program.

The above outlook continues to be based on the assumptions and methodology described in the Company's 2013 Management's Discussion and Analysis under the heading "How We Budget and Forecast Our Results", which should be read in conjunction with the "Forward Looking Statements" section below and is subject to the risks and uncertainties summarized therein, which are more fully described in the Company's public disclosure documents.

Quarterly Dividend
The Board of Directors today declared a cash dividend of $0.24 per share, payable on September 5, 2014, to shareholders of record on August 22, 2014. This dividend is an "eligible dividend" for income tax purposes.

About SNC-Lavalin
Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is one of the leading engineering and construction groups in the world and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure. From offices in over 40 countries, SNC-Lavalin's 30,000 employees provide EPC and EPCM services to clients in a variety of industry sectors, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure and clean power. SNC-Lavalin can also combine these services with its financing and operations and maintenance capabilities to provide complete end-to-end project solutions. www.snclavalin.com

Forward-looking Statements:

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 arrangements, or SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. or one or more of its subsidiaries or joint arrangements.

Statements made in this press release that describe the Company's or management's budgets, estimates, expectations, forecasts, objectives, predictions, projections of the future or strategies may be "forward-looking statements", which can be identified by the use of the conditional or forward-looking terminology such as "aims", "anticipates", "assumes", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "goal", "intends", "may", "plans", "projects", "should", "will", "synergies", "cost savings", or the negative thereof or other variations thereon. Forward-looking statements also include any other statements that do not refer to historical facts. Forward-looking statements also include statements relating to the following: (i) future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses and future prospects; and (ii) business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of the Company's operations and potential synergies resulting from the Acquisition. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe-harbour" provisions of applicable Canadian securities laws. 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. Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding certain key elements of the Company's current objectives, strategic priorities, expectations and plans, and in obtaining a better understanding of the Company's business and anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

The 2014 outlook referred to in this press release is forward-looking information and is based on the methodology described in the Company's 2013 Management's Discussion and Analysis under the heading "How We Budget and Forecast Our Results" and is subject to the risks and uncertainties described in the Company's public disclosure documents. The purpose of the 2014 outlook is to provide the reader with an indication of management's expectations, at the date of this press release, regarding the Company's future financial performance and readers are cautioned that this information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

Forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on a number of assumptions believed by the Company to be reasonable as at the date hereof. The assumptions are set out throughout the Company's 2013 Management's Discussion and Analysis (particularly, in the sections entitled "Critical Accounting Judgments and Key Sources of Estimation Uncertainty" and "How We Analyze and Report our Results" in the Company's 2013 Management's Discussion and Analysis), as updated in the Company's Second Quarter 2014 Management's Discussion and Analysis. The 2014 outlook also assumes that previously disclosed amounts relating to a claim in Algeria will not be reversed, does not take into account the eventual gain on the sale of the Company's interest in AltaLink, or the proposed acquisition of Kentz, including all acquisition-related costs. If these assumptions are inaccurate, the Company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. In addition, important risk factors could cause the Company's assumptions and estimates to be inaccurate and actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: (a) the outcome of pending and future claims and litigation could have a material adverse impact on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operation; (b) the Company is subject to ongoing investigations which could subject the Company to criminal and administrative enforcement actions, civil actions and sanctions, fines and other penalties, some of which may be significant, which, in turn, could harm the Company's reputation, result in suspension, prohibition or debarment of the Company from participating in certain projects, reduce its revenues and net income and adversely affect its business; (c) further regulatory developments could have a significant adverse impact on the Company's results, and employee, agent or partner misconduct or failure to comply with anti-bribery and other government laws and regulations could harm the Company's reputation, reduce its revenues and net income, and subject the Company to criminal and administrative enforcement actions and civil actions;(d) if the Company is not able to successfully execute on its new strategic plan, its business and results of operations would be adversely affected; (e) a negative impact on the Company's public image could influence its ability to obtain future projects; (f) fixed-price contracts or the Company's failure to meet contractual schedule or performance requirements may increase the volatility and unpredictability of its revenue and profitability; (g) the Company's revenue and profitability are largely dependent on the awarding of new contracts, which it does not directly control, and the uncertainty of contract award timing could have an adverse effect on the Company's ability to match its workforce size with its contract needs; (h) the Company's backlog is subject to unexpected adjustments and cancellations, including under "termination for convenience" provisions, and does not represent a guarantee of the Company's future revenues or profitability; (i) SNC-Lavalin is a provider of services to government agencies and is exposed to risks associated with government contracting; (j) the Company's international operations are exposed to various risks and uncertainties, including unfavourable political environments, weak foreign economies and the exposure to foreign currency risk; (k) there are risks associated with the Company's ownership interests in ICI that could adversely affect it; (l) the Company is dependent on third parties to complete many of its contracts; (m) the Company's use of joint ventures and partnerships exposes it to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of the Company's control; (n) the competitive nature of the markets in which the Company does business could adversely affect it; (o) the Company's project execution activities may result in professional liability or liability for faulty services; (p) the Company could be subject to monetary damages and penalties in connection with professional and engineering reports and opinions that it provides; (q) the Company may not have in place sufficient insurance coverage to satisfy its needs; (r) the Company's employees work on projects that are inherently dangerous and a failure to maintain a safe work site could result in significant losses and/or an inability to obtain future projects; (s) the Company's failure to attract and retain qualified personnel could have an adverse effect on its activities; (t) work stoppages, union negotiations and other labour matters could adversely affect the Company; (u) the Company relies on information systems and data in its operations. Failure in the availability or security of the Company's information systems or in data security could adversely affect its business and results of operations; (v) any acquisition or other investment may present risks or uncertainties; (w) the Acquisition may not go forward or be delayed as a result of the period of time necessary to obtain required shareholders approval and regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions which may have an adverse effect on the Company's business; ( x ) the Company may be unable to successfully integrate the businesses of SNC-Lavalin and Kentz and realize the anticipated benefits of the Acquisition; (y) a deterioration or weakening of the Company's financial position, including its cash net of recourse debt, would have a material adverse effect on its business and results of operations; (z) the Company may have significant working capital requirements, which if unfunded could negatively impact its business, financial condition and cash flows; (aa) an inability of SNC-Lavalin's clients to fulfill their obligations on a timely basis could adversely affect the Company; (bb) the Company may be required to impair certain of its goodwill, and it may also be required to write down or write off the value of certain of its assets and investments, either of which could have a material adverse impact on the Company's results of operations and financial condition; (cc) the Company's indebtedness following completion of the Acquisition is expected to be substantial. This indebtedness could have adverse consequences for the Company, including reducing funds available for other business purposes; (dd) global economic conditions could affect the Company's client base, partners, subcontractors and suppliers and could materially affect its backlog, revenues, net income and ability to secure and maintain financing; (ee) fluctuations in commodity prices may affect clients' investment decisions and therefore subject the Company to risks of cancellation, delays in existing work, or changes in the timing and funding of new awards, and may affect the costs of the Company's projects; (ff) inherent limitations to the Company's control framework could result in a material misstatement of financial information, and; (gg) environmental laws and regulations expose the Company to certain risks, could increase costs and liabilities and impact demand for the Company's services. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. 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 sections "Risks and Uncertainties", "How We Analyze and Report Our Results" and "Critical Accounting Judgments and Key Sources of Estimation Uncertainty" in the Company's 2013 Management's Discussion and Analysis, and as updated in the Company's Second Quarter 2014 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. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any such forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable legislation or regulation.

⁽¹⁾ EBIT is defined herein as income before net financial expenses and income taxes. Segment and sub-segment EBIT is defined herein as income net of non-controlling interest, before restructuring costs and acquisition-related costs, net financial expenses and income taxes. The term EBIT does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. Therefore, it may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. EBIT is a non-IFRS financial measure which is an indicator of the entity's capacity to generate income from operations before taking into account management's financing decisions. Management uses this measure as a more meaningful way to compare the Company's financial performance from period to period. Management believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use this information to evaluate the Company's performance.

SNC-Lavalin's Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis and other relevant financial materials are available in the Investors section of the Company's website at www.snclavalin.com. These and other Company reports are also available on the website maintained by the Canadian Securities regulators at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE: SNC-Lavalin