Aecon notches record revenues for 2018; project backlog also climbs to highest level ever

The Finch West light rail project was among numerous high-profile jobs the contractor secured in 2018. PHOTO: Infrastructure Ontario/Twitter

MONTREAL—Aecon Group Inc. said it notched record annual revenues in 2018, allowing it to raise its quarterly dividend by two cents per share to 14.5 cents.

The engineering firm logged a 16 per cent year-over-year increase in revenues to $3.27 billion last year, up from $2.81 billion in 2017.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, it said revenues rose 38 per cent to $948.5 million compared with the same period in 2017.

The launch of the design phase of both the Finch West LRT project in Toronto and the Gordie Howe International Bridge project — set to run between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit — drove “stellar” quarterly results via higher management and development fees in the fourth quarter, said analyst Benoit Poirier of Desjardins Securities.

“Most importantly, Aecon reiterated its positive outlook for 2019, as its record backlog and robust pipeline of opportunities as well as its ongoing concessions should lead to an improved adjusted EBITDA margin,” Poirier said in a research note, referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

The Toronto-based company said net profits jumped 32 per cent to $27.9 million last quarter, from $21.1 million a year earlier.

That equalled 41 cents per diluted share, up from 33 cents per share in the previous year’s quarter.

Aecon said it booked new contracts worth $5.8 billion in 2018, a record and a substantial increase from the $2.8 billion in contracts recorded in 2017.

Analyst Derek Spronck of RBC Dominion Securities says the firm benefited from new projects and milder winter weather last quarter.