{"id":9646,"date":"2022-05-13T14:20:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T21:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wsp-beats-earnings-expectations-maintains-guidance\/"},"modified":"2022-05-13T14:20:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T21:20:00","slug":"wsp-beats-earnings-expectations-maintains-guidance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wsp-beats-earnings-expectations-maintains-guidance\/","title":{"rendered":"WSP beats earnings expectations, maintains guidance"},"content":{"rendered":"

WSP saw backlog rise 6% in Q1 2022 from last quarter, while revenue jumped 28.8% from last year as the Montreal, Canada-based contractor locked in key infrastructure projects around the globe. Its $2.1 billion ($2.7 billion Canadian) in revenue beat analysts\u2019 expectations<\/a> by $520 million, according to Seeking Alpha.\u00a0
\nThe company saw net earnings of $73.5 million in the first quarter, or 61 cents per share, up 8.7% year over year, but down 24.5% from last quarter. WSP\u2019s backlog, or jobs won but not started, increased to $8.4 billion from $6.4 billion last year.
\nWSP maintained its guidance despite the positive indicators, and in an investor call Thursday CEO and President Alexandre L\u2019Heureux said it\u2019s prudent to keep the financial outlook where it is. L\u2019Heureux said the Q1 results \u201cwere robust across our geographies and sectors and ahead of our expectations,\u201d and create a solid foundation for the company\u2019s 2022-2024 strategic cycle.<\/p>\n

WSP recently won several large projects, including an offshore energy hub in the Adriatic Sea and a hospital redevelopment in Melbourne, Australia. It also landed a contract for the Ontario GO Transit rail expansion<\/a>\u00a0(pictured above)\u00a0\u2014 the largest multi-year project that the company has won in Canada \u2014 which will be added to its second quarter backlog.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to our strong organic growth, healthy increase in backlog and strong talent attraction, WSP delivered a robust performance in its first quarter,\u201d L\u2019Heureux said during the call. \u201cToday, everything is in place for us to realize the ambitions of our action plan, all in view of becoming the undisputed leader in our industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company declared a dividend of 37.5 cents per share, which it paid in April. L’Heureux also said it has hired nearly 4,000 workers since the beginning of the year. The company is continuing to focus on green building and technical services, L\u2019Heureux said, adding that the company\u2019s acquisition of environmental consulting firm Golder<\/a> a year ago was \u201ca great success on all fronts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said the acquisition has helped WSP grow its climate-related work and meet strong demand for environmental services, in particular in the mining industry. In March, WSP released its inaugural climate risk and opportunities report<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WSP also landed a unique contract for the largest wastewater treatment plant project<\/a> in Canada in which the contractor, client and consultant will share responsibility for all elements of the Ontario build\u2019s execution. Many infrastructure builders have been outspoken about the challenges of sprawling public-private partnerships<\/a>, and L\u2019Heureux said this type of integrated project delivery procurement approach is the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Analysts on the call probed WSP leaders about the potential impact of inflation. L\u2019Heureux said the company has been taking challenging economic conditions into account in its planning, and he doesn\u2019t expect to change its financial outlook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cInflation is not a concern that has been there only for the last 90 days, I think we were all aware last year that inflation was there and mostly was there to stay, so we certainly tried to prepare with that in mind when we started the year,\u201d\u00a0 L\u2019Heureux said. \u201cI\u2019m not suggesting that things won\u2019t change in the distant future, but at the moment we are being awarded a lot of great work, both in the public and also in the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company said it is seeing growth across markets, and in its Earth and environment sector in particular. L’Heureux noted the growth of infrastructure investment in the U.S. and in many other countries would be a boon in the years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cWSP has outperformed the market and industrial peers over the past one-, three- and five year periods due to its successful acquisition strategy, which has generated solid growth despite uneven economic conditions,\u201d Edward Jones analyst Matt Arnold wrote<\/a> in a May 12 investment summary report. \u201cThe primary downside risks to our Buy recommendation include negative changes in global political or economic conditions, project delays and potential difficulty integrating future acquisitions.”<\/p>\n

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