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Dive brief:
- WSP posted an earnings trifecta for 2023, with higher profits, revenue and backlog compared to the previous year, according to its annual report premiered on wednesday In an investor call Thursday, WSP CEO and President Alexandre L’Heureux attributed the positive results to the company’s acquisition growth, strong project performance and “significant productivity initiatives.”
- The Montreal-based engineering and design giant posted revenue of CA$14.44 billion (US$10.65 billion) for the year, up 21% from 2022. Its profits stood at CA$550 million, an increase of 27.4% over the previous year, while the backlog stood at CA$14.08 billion, an increase of 8.3%. The company also saw a quarterly increase in revenue and profit to CA$3.72 billion and CA$130.6 million, respectively.
- The company continues to emphasize its environmental, ESG and clean energy work, which benefited from “strong momentum across all of our geographies,” L’Heureux said on the call. “Our future is not short of opportunities for growth, as global trends point to greater demand in all these fields.”
Diving knowledge:
WSP CFO Alain Michaud said the company is diversifying and divesting from real estate and called 2023 a “year of significant consolidation and transformation.”
“In this respect, we are very pleased with the progress and are on track to exceed our 2024 goal of reducing our real estate costs and footprint by 20%,” Michaud said.
WSP placed more emphasis on what L’Heureux called “hyper-growth sectors,” such as healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, data centers, mission critical and manufacturing.
Heureux also attributed WSP’s results to its investment in technology and employee retention, including the addition of its North American offices to its new enterprise resource planning system, which will allow it to more efficiently leverage the its global workforce. The 2023 report closes the second year of WSP’s 2022-2024 strategic cycle.
the company completed its acquisition of Lausanne, Switzerland-based BG Consulting Engineers and Milsons Point, Australia-based Enstruct in early 2023, and also added Quebec LGT and northern Sydney-based Caliber to its fold. Caliber allowed WSP to enter a new market in Australia, and the acquisition of BG Bonnard & Gardel Holding allowed it to be a major player in Switzerland, L’Heureux said.
“We have substantially completed the integration of our recent strategic acquisitions,” L’Heureux said. “We have a strong balance sheet to support our ambitions and I am confident in our ability to meet our financial target by 2024.”
WSP too sold Louis Berger Serviceswhich he acquired in 2018. Heureux said on an August earnings call that this had always been the plan.
WSP bullish on clean energy, transit
WSP continues to see “positive momentum” from the Jobs and Infrastructure Investments Act, and the infrastructure market is strong worldwide, L’Heureux said. It also highlighted good performance in the UK market.
“The biggest opportunities in this bill and other stimulus programs globally are in roads, bridges and major transportation projects,” L’Heureux said.
L’Heureux expects a boom in environmental and clean energy work in particular. He named a number of projects WSP is working on in the sector, including:
The company continues to garner environmental accolades, ranking 12th on Corporate Knights’ 2024 list of the World’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies and gaining placement in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index for the first time.
