LBL reported flat Q1 earnings, however Aug. 5 NR shows there is substantial growth ahead...
For: LBL Skysystems Corporation Alain Beaucage, President Tel:(514)
697-6912 Fax:(514) 697-7013
Contact: Maison Brison Rick Leckner Tel: (514) 731-0000 Fax: (514)
731-4525 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LBL Skysystems Wins Additional $53 Million Project Fiscal 2000 Contracts
Already Total $77 Million
Montreal, August 5, 1999—LBL Skysystems (ME: LBL) President Alain
Beaucage today told Company's shareholders attending the annual general
meeting that LBL is out to capture a growing share of the estimated two
billion dollars in North American curtainwall business expected to be
available over the next 18 months.
In late breaking news, Mr. Beaucage announced that “we have been
advised that we have just won a $53 million contract for the new U.S.
Airways terminal at Philadelphia airport. This is the largest single contract
ever awarded to LBL and we are extremely proud of this achievement.”
General Contractor is The Turner Corporation.
Mr. Beaucage also announced two other contracts obtained in recent
weeks. Both are for office buildings, one in Minneapolis and the other in
Washington D.C. The Minneapolis project, for The Hines Company at 50
South 6 th Street, is worth $20 million. General Contractor is the M.A.
Mortenson Company. In Washington, with The Clark Construction Company
as General Contractor, the LBL share of the work on a Pennsylvania
Avenue building, a stone's throw from the White House, for The Kaempfer
Company, is $4 million.
Mr. Beaucage said the mission of the Montreal-based specialty contractor
“is to be a world leader in our field. The results of the past year and the three
latest contracts show that we are well positioned to achieve this objective.”
In the past fiscal year, LBL sales rose by 8.7% to $43.6 million while net
earnings climbed by 153%, ending the year with earnings per share of
$0.07 compared to $0.03 a year earlier.
The lion's share of LBL's activity has been in the United States, “a
particularly strong and vibrant market,” according to Mr. Beaucage. “That
does not mean that we have abandoned Canada. However the reality is that
of the multi million dollars in potential work for our industry expected in the
coming months, a very small proportion is expected from Canadian
sources,” he said.
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The Company was identified in June by Glass Magazine, an influential trade
publication, as the third largest North American company in its field.
Mr. Beaucage said the Company's plan is to sustain growth. “With a backlog
of $40 million last year, we achieved $43.6 million in sales. Consequently,
with our backlog now at $133 million, we are very confident in the future of
LBL.” He added that the Company will continue to strive for better margins,
in part through greater operational efficiencies.
The Company President outlined a pending $7 million dollar project to
develop a new head office and manufacturing facility in Bois des Filions,
north of Montreal. “This move,” he added, is part of the drive “to expand
capacity as well as our ability to undertake the more complex projects”
designed by architects who favour “more exotic geometric designs.”
As well, Mr. Beaucage indicated efforts for a closer working relationship with
ADF Group, a steel fabricator, whose President and Chief Executive Officer,
Jean Paschini, has been elected to the Chairmanship of the LBL Board.
He pointed out that the two companies are somewhat complementary as
LBL hangs the curtainwall it manufactures on framework provided by
companies such as ADF. “It is evident that we must take advantage of
synergies between our two companies, particularly in engineering, sales,
on-site supervision and general operations,” he added.
“Our principle market is North America,” said Mr. Beaucage, but he added,
“with certain strategic alliances, we will be able to expand our horizons.”
Company Vice-President, Finance, Louis Potvin, reported that LBL's
improved financial position stemmed from the restructuring of the previous
year, and the achievement of the objective of higher profitability on sales.
Mr. Potvin said the anticipated move to new Montreal facilities, “combined
with a longer-term labour agreement being finalized and a new, first-tier
software package that will improve the flow of information within LBL are all
elements that will contribute to greater efficiencies and therefore, increased
profitability in the years ahead.”
LBL Skysystems specializes in the manufacture and installation of high
quality engineered curtain walls and windows for commercial and
institutional buildings primarily using aluminum and glass. The Company
works with world leading architects, general contractors and engineers
across North America in the design, manufacture and installation of its
products.
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