MONTREAL, Dec. 18, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - SNC-Lavalin
Group Inc. (TSX: SNC) today announced that the federal charges
arising from legacy activities in Libya between 2001 and 2011 have been
settled.
The Court of Quebec has
accepted a plea of guilty from SNC-Lavalin Construction Inc. (a
subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.) to a single charge of
fraud.
All charges against SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and its international
marketing arm, SNC-Lavalin International Inc., have been
withdrawn.
As part of the settlement, SNC-Lavalin Construction Inc. will
pay a fine in the amount of $280
million, payable in equal instalments over 5 years, and will
be subject to a three-year probation order.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. will comply with the probation order for
the three-year period. Accordingly, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. will
engage an independent monitor who will provide initial and annual
reports, executive summaries of which will be posted on the
company's website, and will make any changes to its compliance and
ethics programs that are identified by the independent monitor and
are required. SNC-Lavalin group is already subject to monitoring by
Public Services and Procurement Canada and the World Bank, and has
put in place a robust ethics and compliance program that meets the
highest international standards.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Kevin G. Lynch, Chairman said, "We are pleased
to settle these legacy issues and remove these legal uncertainties
overhanging the Company. We feel this settlement is fair, and we
deeply regret this past behaviour which was contrary to our values
and ethical standards. The company has changed a great deal,
embraced a world-class integrity regime and culture, and going
forward we have renewed confidence about the Company's future."
Ian L. Edwards, President and
Chief Executive Officer, SNC-Lavalin commented, "This is a
game-changer for the Company and finally allows us to put this
issue behind us. I apologize for this past misconduct and welcome
the opportunity to move forward. We are beginning an exciting new
chapter that is focused on our future growth and further de-risking
our business. I want to thank all of our stakeholders, and
especially our employees, for their continued dedication and
support."
With the withdrawal of the charges against SNC-Lavalin Group
Inc. and SNC-Lavalin International Inc., the settlement mitigates
uncertainty and distraction that has been a drag on performance and
will assist the company in executing its newly announced strategy
of building a global engineering services leader. The company does
not anticipate that the guilty plea by a construction subsidiary
(which has not bid on any new contracts since it was charged in
2015) will affect the eligibility of SNC-Lavalin Group companies to
bid on future projects that are aligned with the SNC-Lavalin
Group's newly announced strategic direction, and continuing to
serve its strategic clients here and abroad. While it is possible
that the guilty plea by the subsidiary may present risks in the
near-term, the company believes these risks will be manageable and
does not anticipate that the plea will have any long-term material
adverse impact on the company's overall business.
About SNC-Lavalin
Founded in 1911,
SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated professional services and project
management company with offices around the world. SNC-Lavalin
connects people, technology and data to help shape and deliver
world-leading concepts and projects, while offering comprehensive
innovative solutions across the asset lifecycle. Our expertise is
wide-ranging — consulting & advisory, intelligent networks
& cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project
& construction management, operations & maintenance,
decommissioning and sustaining capital – and delivered to clients
in four strategic sectors: EDPM (engineering, design and project
management), Infrastructure, Nuclear and Resources, supported by
Capital. People. Drive. Results.
www.snclavalin.com
Forward-looking Statements
Reference in this press release, and hereafter, to the "Company"
or to "SNC-Lavalin" means, as the context may require, SNC-Lavalin
Group Inc. and all or some of its subsidiaries or joint
arrangements, or SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. or one or more of its
subsidiaries or joint arrangements.
Statements made in this press release that describe the
Company's or management's budgets, estimates, expectations,
forecasts, objectives, predictions, projections of the future or
strategies may be "forward-looking statements", which can be
identified by the use of the conditional or forward-looking
terminology such as "aims", "anticipates", "assumes", "believes",
"cost savings", "estimates", "expects", "goal", "intends", "may",
"plans", "projects", "should", "synergies", "target", "vision",
"will", or the negative thereof or other variations thereon.
Forward-looking statements also include any other statements that
do not refer to historical facts. Forward-looking statements also
include statements relating to the following: i) future capital
expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, economic performance,
indebtedness, financial condition, losses and future prospects; and
ii) business and management strategies and the expansion and growth
of the Company's operations. All such forward-looking statements
are made pursuant to the "safe-harbour" provisions of applicable
Canadian securities laws. The Company cautions that, by their
nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties,
and that its actual actions and/or results could differ materially
from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements,
or could affect the extent to which a particular projection
materializes. Forward-looking statements are presented for the
purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding certain
key elements of the Company's current objectives, strategic
priorities, expectations and plans, and in obtaining a better
understanding of the Company's business and anticipated operating
environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be
appropriate for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements made in this press release are based
on a number of assumptions believed by the Company to be reasonable
as at the date hereof. If these assumptions are inaccurate, the
Company's actual results could differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. In
addition, important risk factors could cause the Company's
assumptions and estimates to be inaccurate and actual results or
events to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by
these forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not
limited to: (a) outcome of pending and future claims and litigation
and other ongoing investigations which could subject the Company to
criminal and administrative enforcement actions, civil actions and
sanctions, fines and other penalties, some of which may be
significant; (b) regulatory developments as well as employee, agent
or partner misconduct or failure to comply with anti-bribery and
other government laws and regulations; (c) reputation of the
Company; (d) fixed-price contracts or the Company's failure to meet
contractual schedule or performance requirements or to execute
projects efficiently; (e) contract awards and timing; (f) remaining
performance obligations; (g) being a provider of services to
government agencies; (h) international operations; (i) Brexit; (j)
ownership interests in Capital investments; (k) dependence on third
parties; (l) joint ventures and partnerships; (m) competition; (n)
professional liability or liability for faulty services; (o)
monetary damages and penalties in connection with professional and
engineering reports and opinions; (p) insurance coverage; (q)
health and safety; (r) qualified personnel; (s) work stoppages,
union negotiations and other labour matters; (t) information
systems and data; (u) acquisitions or other investment; (v)
divestitures and the sale of significant assets; (w) liquidity and
financial position; * indebtedness; (y) security under the
SNC-Lavalin Highway Holdings Loan; (z) dependence on subsidiaries
to help repay indebtedness; (aa) dividends; (bb) post-employment
benefit obligations, including pension-related obligations; (cc)
working capital requirements; (dd) collection from customers; (ee)
impairment of goodwill and other assets; (ff) global economic
conditions; (gg) fluctuations in commodity prices; (hh) inherent
limitations to the Company's control framework; (ii) environmental
laws and regulations; (jj) results of the new 2019 strategic
direction coupled with a corporate reorganization; and (kk) impact
of operating results and level of indebtedness on financial
situation.
The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not
exhaustive. For more information on risks and uncertainties, and
assumptions that could cause the Company's actual results to differ
from current expectations, please refer to the sections "Risks and
Uncertainties", "How We Analyze and Report Our Results" and
"Critical Accounting Judgments and Key Sources of Estimation
Uncertainty" in the Company's 2018 MD&A, and as updated in the
first, second and third quarter 2019 MD&A.
The forward-looking statements herein reflect the Company's
expectations as at the date of this press release and are subject
to change after this date. The Company does not undertake to update
publicly or to revise any such forward-looking statements whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless
required by applicable legislation or regulation.
SOURCE SNC-Lavalin