SNC-Lavalin slashes dividend to 2 cents a share after posting $2.1B quarterly loss

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc on Thursday cut its dividend and reported a quarterly loss, as the struggling Canadian construction and engineering firm was hit by a $1.7 billion goodwill impairment charge related to its resources unit.

The company reduced its quarterly dividend to 2 Canadian cents per share from 10 Canadian cents per share, its second cut this year.

The company withdrew its forecast for 2019 last week citing lower-than-expected results and said it would exit fixed-price contracts while it explores all options for its resources unit, including a sale.

Revenue from SNCL Projects, the company's unit which will manage its exit from lump-sum turnkey construction contracts, fell about 36 per cent to $709.68 million, impacted by projects in the Middle East and Canada.

The Montreal-based company, which announced a strategic review in June and named its Chief Operating Officer Ian Edwards as interim chief executive officer, has been pressured by corruption charges back home, poor business performance and trade challenges in Saudi Arabia and China.

SNC faces a trial in Canada over allegations that its former executives bribed Libyan officials to get contracts between 2001 and 2011. The company's unsuccessful attempts to reach a settlement led to a political scandal engulfing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The company reported a loss attributable to shareholders of C$2.12 billion ($1.60 billion), or C$12.07 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared to a profit of C$83.01 million, or 47 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.