SNC ponders spinoffs to cut debt burden

Article Excerpt

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $27 (Toronto symbol SNC; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares o/s: 175.6 million; Market cap: $4.7 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.snclavalin.com) is a leading Canadian engineering and construction company that specializes in large-scale infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, transit systems and water-treatment plants. SNC’s revenue rose 16.4%, from $8.24 billion in 2014 to $9.59 billion in 2015. That increase was mainly due to its August 2014 acquisition of U.K.-based Kentz Corp., which sells engineering and construction services to oil and gas firms. SNC paid $2.1 billion for Kentz. Revenue fell 11.6% to $8.47 billion in 2016 as a result of lower revenue from mining clients. In July 2017, SNC paid $3.5 billion for U.K.-based engineering firm WS Atkins plc, the largest acquisition in its history. Atkins specializes in industrial projects such as railways, nuclear power plants, water-treatment facilities and highways. As a result, its revenue gained 10.2% to $9.33 billion in 2017, and rose again in 2018 by…