Aecon beats expectations as third quarter helped by federal subsidy program

The company’s backlog inched up slightly, compared to the same quarter of 2019

TORONTO—Aecon Group Inc. beat expectations as its net profit surged to $73.6 million in the third quarter as it was helped by the federal wage subsidy program.

The Toronto-based construction firm said it earned 99 cents per diluted share for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with 60 cents per share or $42.1 million a year earlier.

Revenues increased about one per cent to $1.04 billion, from $1.02 billion.

Aecon was expected to earn 41 cents per share on $1 billion of revenues, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

The company said it received $69 million from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, which helps companies maintain employment as they deal with the impact of COVID-19.

Its backlog was about $6.7 billion, up from $6.6 billion in the third quarter of 2019, but down from $7.3 billion last quarter.

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aecon has been well served by the diversity and resilience of its operations,” said CEO Jean-Louis Servranckx.

“While we have certainly been impacted by COVID-19, operating conditions have stabilized and Aecon’s underlying business performance remains strong.”