SNC-Lavalin restructures as it targets growth, higher credit rating
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. says it is restructuring its business segments again as it looks to become cash-flow positive and return to an investment-grade credit rating.
The Montreal-based engineering firm, which has been working to put several corruption scandals behind it, says the reorganization will help set the stage for growth after years of de-risking the business.
The company is rolling its mining and infrastructure segments into its general engineering services business, while engineering as a whole and several other segments are now grouped under its SNCL services business.
SNC says it is targeting organic revenue growth of four to six per cent annually for the next three years in the services segment, which excludes only some legacy transit projects in Canada and the company's capital segment.
Speaking at an investor day Tuesday, company chief executive Ian Edwards said the company has sold its oil and gas business and is winding down its lump-sum turnkey contracts for transit projects that have been a drain on cash flow as it looks to simplify the business.
He says the company will be focused on its core markets of Canada, the U.K. and the U.S., while also maintaining more targeted operations in other global markets.
"What we're about here is permanently de-risking this business," said Edwards. "Reducing the business down to countries and geographies where we know we can succeed, we can get paid, and we can produce predictable results and predictable cashflows."
While the company moves on, its name continues to come up related to past scandals. Just last week SNC and two former executives were charged in relation to a bridge contract in Quebec from around 20 years ago, while earlier this year the World Bank removed the company from a blacklist it had been added to because of its ties to corruption in contracts in Bangladesh and Cambodia.
In 2019, the company settled criminal charges related to the work the company did in Libya.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Golf season a summer tourism driver in Canada
Golf is a sign of spring and summer and a major driver for seasonal tourism, experts say.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.