SNC-Lavalin posts $49.2-million fourth-quarter profit, tops expectations

MONTREAL – SNC-Lavalin earned $49.2 million in its fourth quarter, down from a year earlier when the company’s results were bolstered by the sale of its stake in an Alberta electricity distributor.

The Montreal-based company (TSX:SNC) said Thursday the profit amounted to 33 cents per share for the quarter, down from nearly $1.15 billion or $7.51 per share a year ago.

Revenue for the fourth quarter was $2.6 billion, down from $2.8 billion a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the company said it earned 67 cents per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 70 cents per share a year ago.

Analysts had estimated 42 cents per share of adjusted earnings in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters.

For the full year, SNC earned $404.3 million or $2.68 per share on $9.6 billion in revenue last year, compared with a profit of $1.33 billion or $8.74 per share on $8.2 billion in revenue in 2014.

The results came as the company increased its quarterly dividend by a penny to 26 cents per share, payable March 31.

SNC-Lavalin’s main business — which provides engineering and construction services to a wide range of industries — earned nearly $14 million or nine cents per share of net income in the fourth quarter. Adjusted earnings were 44 cents per share.

The result compared with a net loss of $255.6 million or $1.67 per share and an adjusted profit of 15 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2014.

For the full year, SNC’s engineering and construction business earned $95.8 million or 64 cents per share in 2015, compared with loss of $300.5 million or $1.97 per share in 2014.