MONTREAL, June 2, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - SNC-Lavalin Group
Inc. (TSX: SNC) announces today that its Board of Directors has
filed a notice to renew, for a 12-month period, its normal course
issuer bid, which will expire on June 4,
2016. In the notice, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. ("the Company")
states that a maximum of 3,000,000 Common Shares, representing
approximately 2% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares as of
May 18, 2016, may be purchased for
cancellation. As of May 18, 2016, the
Company had 150,030,894 Common Shares issued and outstanding,
131,239,572 of which made up the public float. Under current
circumstances, the Company believes that the purchase of Common
Shares is an effective use of its funds and in the best interest of
the Company and its shareholders. The Company may make purchases to
offset dilution arising from the issuance of Common Shares under
security-based compensation arrangements of the Company or for
other corporate purposes.
The timing and amount of purchases under the normal course
issuer bid are subject to regulatory approval and to management
discretion based on factors such as market conditions. These
purchases are to be made through the facilities of the Toronto
Stock Exchange and/or alternative trading systems, in accordance
with the Toronto Stock Exchange's policy on normal course issuer
bids. The Company may purchase its Common Shares using an automatic
share repurchase plan which was put in place on May 30, 2016 with RBC Dominion Securities Inc.,
in accordance with the relevant sections of the TSX Company Manual
and applicable securities laws. The price the Company will pay for
any Common Shares will be the market price at the time of
acquisition, plus brokerage fees. Purchases may commence on
June 6, 2016 and will terminate no
later than June 5, 2017. Certain
directors and senior officers of the Company may sell securities of
the Company during the course of the normal course issuer bid.
During the period that the normal course issuer bid is
outstanding, the Company does not intend to make purchases of its
Common Shares other than by means of open market transactions or
such other means as may be permitted by the Toronto Stock Exchange
and securities regulatory authorities from time to time and as
applicable, including block purchases of Common Shares.
The average daily trading volume of the Company's Common Shares
through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange over the last
six completed calendar months was 369,268 ("ADTV"). Accordingly,
under the Toronto Stock Exchange Rules and policies, the Company is
entitled on any trading day to purchase up to 25% of the ADTV,
which totals 92,317 Common Shares, for the next 12-month period of
the normal course issuer bid. In excess of the daily 92,317
repurchase limit, the Company may also purchase, once a week, a
block of Common Shares not owned by any insiders, which may exceed
such daily limit, in accordance with the Toronto Stock Exchange
Rules.
During the period from June 5,
2015 to May 18, 2016
inclusively, the Company purchased 1,465,600 of its outstanding
Common Shares at a weighted average price of $43.78 per Common Share.
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 50 countries, SNC-Lavalin's employees are proud to build what
matters. Our teams provide engineering, procurement, construction,
completions and commissioning services together with a range of
sustaining capital services to clients in four industry sectors,
oil and gas, mining and metallurgy, infrastructure and 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",
"cost savings", "estimates", "expects", "goal", "intends", "may",
"plans", "projects", "should", "synergies", "will", 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. 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.
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 2015 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 2015 Management's
Discussion and Analysis), as updated in the Company's First Quarter
2016 Management's Discussion and Analysis. 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) on
February 19, 2015, the Company was
charged with one count of corruption under the Corruption of
Foreign Public Officials Act (Canada)(the "CFPOA") and one count of fraud
under the Criminal Code (Canada),
and is also subject to other 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. These charges and investigations,
and potential results thereof, 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 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 Capital investments 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) 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; * the Company may have significant working
capital requirements, which if unfunded could negatively impact its
business, financial condition and cash flows; (y) an inability of
SNC-Lavalin's clients to fulfill their obligations on a timely
basis could adversely affect the Company; (z) 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; (aa) 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; (bb) 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; (cc) inherent
limitations to the Company's control framework could result in a
material misstatement of financial information, and; (dd)
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 could 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 2015 Management's
Discussion and Analysis, as updated in the Company's First Quarter
2016 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.
SOURCE SNC-Lavalin