AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. (ATRL) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello and welcome to SNC-Lavalin's Annual Shareholders Meeting. My name is Erik Ryan, and I am the Executive Vice President of Strategy, Marketing and External Relations. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we have opted for virtual-only annual meeting this year in order to abide by the social distancing measures in place and reduce the risk and spread of infection to our employees, shareholders, Board and other stakeholders. [Operator Instructions] Lastly, the live streaming of the meeting will end after the question period is over. Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to introduce the people who will be addressing you today. So first, we'll have Kevin Lynch, our Chairman of the Board of Directors; and then Ian Edwards, the President and CEO of SNC-Lavalin. I will now give the virtual floor over to the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Kevin Lynch.

Thank you, Eric, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the 53rd Annual Meeting of Shareholders of SNC-Lavalin Group. As notice of the meeting has been duly given and a quorum is present, I call this meeting to order. Frankly, these are extraordinary times where lives and livelihoods everywhere are under unprecedented stress. All of us know friends and neighbors and coworkers affected by COVID-19. To all our stakeholders, on behalf of the Board and management, we hope that you stay safe and keep well in these most difficult of circumstances. Our virtual meeting today is part of adapting to these circumstances. We're pleased to be able to connect with you despite the COVID-19 crisis. We hope to ensure that you're able to fully participate in today's meeting, including asking questions and voting on all matters of business before us as if you are attending the meeting in person. Again, thank you for joining us. As is our usual practice, simultaneous translation will be provided throughout the meeting. You may submit your questions in either English or in French. You can select via the web platform to listen to the webcast in the language of your choice. Our Secretary, Arden, will receive the written questions you send and will read them out so that everyone is aware of the questions. Now we'll begin by conducting the official business of the meeting. After the official business is completed, Ian Edwards, our President and Chief Executive Officer, will address shareholders, questions other than those related to matters for approval will be dealt with after the official business of the meeting is completed and Ian has made his remarks. If a question is asked and not otherwise answered, an answer will be provided after the annual meeting by contacting Investor Relations. Now joining me this morning via webcast, as Eric said, are Ian Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer; Charlene Ripley, Executive Vice President and General Counsel; and Arden Furlotte, Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary. For this meeting, I will act as Chair and Arden will be our Secretary. Joining us remotely are our director nominees, our retiring directors as well as members of our executive committee. Jeri Trotter and Rita Gutierrez-Fernandes from Broadridge will be our scrutineers for today's meeting. As there are several matters to be dealt with at the meeting, which is being held virtually, obviously, we've arranged for Charlene to move and second the various motions as well for the 2 shareholder proposals to be voted on. In lieu of the proponents making their statements on their proposals, we have arranged for their statements to be provided in advance of the meeting, and Arden will read the statement so that all those participating are fully aware of them. The notice calling this annual meeting of shareholders of SNC-Lavalin Group and the related documents have been distributed to shareholders registered on our records as of March 16, 2020. Today, registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders will be voting online. Poll will remain open throughout the meeting until the last business item has been put to a vote, and I declare voting closed. A simple majority is required to approve all matters voted on at this meeting. We should now proceed to the first item on the agenda, the financial statements and auditor's report. The consolidated financial statements with the auditor's report have been sent to all shareholders that requested them, and along with the 2019 financial report, are available to all shareholders attending this meeting on the company's website. Also at this time, I'd like to introduce André Vincent, the representative of Deloitte, our auditor, for the 2019 fiscal year, who is also joining us remotely for this meeting. Now Arden, are there any questions on the financial statements?

No, Mr. Chairman, we have not received any questions or comments on the financial statements.

Thank you. So there, to conclude the first matter then, we will include the consolidated financial statements, the auditor's report, along with the 2019 report with the formal minutes of this meeting. We'll now proceed to the second matter on the agenda, the election of officers -- the election of directors. This year, the number of director nominees has been set by the Board at 11. Biographies of each of the nominees begin on Page 13 of the circular. Seven of our nominees are standing for reelection. We also have 4 new nominees who are standing for election as members of the Board of Directors for the first time. Pursuant to the terms of the company's advanced notice bylaw, no other nominations were received. I will now ask Charlene to propose and second the motion on the director nominations. Charlene?

Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to nominate each of the following persons to be elected as a director to hold office until the close of the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed. Mr. Gary Baughman, Ms. Mary-Ann Bell; Mr. Christie Clark, Ms. Isabelle Courville; Mr. Ian Edwards, Mr. Kevin Lynch; Mr. Steven Newman; Mr. Michael Pedersen; Mr. Jean Raby, Mr. Zin Smati; and Ms. Benita Warmbold.

Thank you, Charlene. Arden, are there any questions on the nominations?

No, Mr. Chairman, we have not received any questions.

Thank you. I declare the nominations closed, and we'll now proceed with the vote. [Voting]

All right. We'll now proceed to the third item on the agenda, the appointment of the auditor of the company. I will now ask Charlene to propose and second the motion on the appointment of the auditor of the company. Charlene?

I move that Deloitte LLP be appointed as auditors of the company until the close of the next annual meeting of shareholders.

Thank you, Charlene. Arden, are there any questions on the appointment of the auditors?

No, Mr. Chairman, we have not received any questions.

Thank you. So we'll now proceed with the vote. [Voting]

Moving on, the fourth item of business on the agenda is the resolution reconfirming the amended and restated shareholder rights plan to be in effect until the close of business on the date on which the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the corporation is held in 2023. A summary of the rights plan is set forth in schedule A of the company's circular. I will now again ask Charlene to propose and second the motion on the reconfirmation of the amended and restated shareholders rights plan.

I move for the adoption of the resolution reconfirming the amended and restated shareholder's rights plan agreement.

Thank you, Charlene. Arden, are there any questions on the resolution?

No, Mr. Chairman, we have not received any questions.

Thank you. We'll now proceed with the vote. [Voting]

Okay. Moving next to the fifth item on the agenda, the shareholder advisory vote on our approach to executive compensation. The text of this advisory resolution is set out in the Adoption of a Say on Pay Resolution section of the circular. I will now ask Charlene to propose and second the motion on the advisory vote on our approach to executive compensation.

I move on an advisory basis and not to diminish the role and responsibilities of the Board of Directors that the shareholders accept the approach to executive compensation disclosed in the circular delivered in advance of the annual meeting of shareholders.

Thank you, Charlene. Arden. Are there any questions on the shareholder advisory vote?

No, there are not, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Okay. Again, we'll proceed with this vote. [Voting]

All right. Let me now move to the sixth item of business on the agenda, two shareholder proposals. Shareholders have had an opportunity to read these proposals and the Board's responses, which are set out in schedule B of the circular. The 2 proposals that are being put to a vote today were submitted by MEDAC. MEDAC representatives are unable to be present in person due to the virtual meeting format. Therefore, we have agreed to have each proposal moved on their behalf so that each of them can be voted on by shareholders. I'll ask Arden to read the statements provided by MEDAC in support of their proposals, Arden?

This statement was provided by Mr. Willie Gagnon. Good day, everyone. I am acting on behalf of MEDAC, which is the shareholder of SNC-Lavalin. We submitted 2 proposals to SNC-Lavalin this year. These proposals are found on Page 87 and 88 of the French version and Page 78 and 77 of the English version of the management proxy circular. Proposal #1 is on integrating environmental, social and governance criteria in the compensation scheme for executive officers. This shareholder proposal was submitted to 20 public companies over the last few years, and has as its goal to align the various policies of the company with respect to environmental, social and company governance, namely ESG policies, and the executive remuneration policy. In other words, not respecting ESG policies should have a negative impact on compensation. Over time, the dialogue we have had with these issuers has allowed us to reach an understanding with more than half of them, so that their Board undertakes to use its discretionary power with respect to setting compensation in situations where management has not met mandatory requirements of the company's ESG policies. We agreed with these companies to not hold a vote on this proposal. We would have liked to agree with SNC-Lavalin in the same fashion. Furthermore, for all other issuers, the results of the votes in favor of the shareholder proposal reflect the support of important institutional investors. We, therefore, invite all shareholders to vote in favor of this proposal. Proposal #2 is on maintaining the head office in Québec. In the U.K., the law goes even further than our proposal by providing that it is a fiduciary duty of directors. This comes from Section 172 of the Company's Act 2006. According to the Supreme Court, it can be legitimate for a Board of Directors to take into consideration the interest of shareholders, employees, suppliers, creditors, consumers, clients, governments and the environment, therefore, the society in general. This comes from BCE 2008 decision. We have difficulty understanding the reason why the company undertook to maintain its head office in Montréal in an agreement with an important investor. Was it because SNC-Lavalin would have otherwise wanted to leave? This appears to us as being totally inconceivable. SNC-Lavalin has always been a part of the Québec economy and should formally undertake in writing, in its statutes, to always maintain its head office, not only for 7 years, as we are perfectly entitled to expect as both investors and citizens in the scrupulous respect of what we consider is its fiduciary obligation towards the community and the society in general. It would be inconceivable to consider the long-term interest of a company as large and important as SNC-Lavalin, as for any business, without taking into account the interest of the whole society, and that of the country that not only witnessed its creation but also literally contributed to it coming into existence. We therefore, invite all shareholders to vote in favor of this proposal.

Thank you, Arden, for reading the MEDAC statement. I'll now ask Charlene to propose and second the motion on each of the MEDAC proposals.

I move MEDAC's first proposal on integrating environmental, social and governance criteria in the compensation scheme for executive officers and their second proposal on maintaining the head office in Québec.

Thank you, Charlene. Arden, are there any questions on either of MEDAC's proposals.

No, Mr. Chairman, we have not received any questions.

Great. Thank you. We'll now proceed with a vote on each of the MEDAC shareholder proposals. [Voting]

All right. The seventh item on the agenda is the resolution ratifying, confirming and approving certain amendments to bylaw number 2005-1 of the company and the full text of the resolution is reproduced in sub Section 7 under the business of the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders, which essentially allow us to have a virtual meeting. I now ask Charlene to propose and second the motion on the resolution.

I propose the adoption of the resolution ratifying, confirming and approving certain amendments to bylaw number 2005-1 of the company.

Thank you, Charlene. Arden, are there any questions on the resolution?

No, Mr. Chairman, we have not received any questions.

Thank you. We'll now proceed with that vote as well. [Voting]

Now as we've dealt with all business items on the agenda, I declare voting on all matters closed. And while the scrutineers are preparing their report on the votes cast today, perhaps I can offer a few words on how the Board responded to the challenges of 2019, which was both a difficult year and a pivotal year for SNC-Lavalin. And let me start by thanking our stakeholders for their support and patience as we navigated through these challenges and for their confidence in SNC-Lavalin's long-term potential. The Board recognized that fundamental renewal was the only and the best way forward for SNC-Lavalin. And that renewal has been focused on the company's leadership, its strategic direction, its legal and operating environment and its governance. During the past 12 months, we've made significant progress in each of these shareholder priorities. This progress includes, first, we renewed the senior management team, beginning with the appointment of Ian Edwards as our new President and CEO. Ian, who you'll hear from shortly, has led the development of the new strategic direction for the company. He has fundamentally refreshed the leadership team across the company, and he's renewed our outreach to investors, to customers and to employees. Second, we renewed the strategic direction of SNC-Lavalin, focusing on high-value engineering services as our future and derisking our traditional businesses by no longer bidding on lump-sum turnkey construction projects, reducing our geographic footprint and looking at divestitures of noncore activities. Third, we renewed the legal environment of SNC-Lavalin by settling the federal charges which have overhang the company for years and sapped it energies. The settlement was fair for all concerned and allows SNC-Lavalin to focus entirely on implementing its new strategic direction. And fourth, we renewed the Board of Directors of SNC-Lavalin. And the new nominees bring a wealth of experience in operations, banking and finance, technology and corporate restructuring that will strongly support our new strategic direction. I believe the Board has acted decisively in the interest of all stakeholders over the past year to put SNC-Lavalin on a new trajectory for long-term success. Having completed this key phase of the renewal of SNC-Lavalin, which has taken enormous efforts on the parts of both the Board and management, I believe the next stage in our renewal path is a total focus on the implementation of our new strategic direction. And in so doing, building a world-leading engineering services firm headquartered here in Canada. I also believe that this shift in Board and management focus should include a new chair of the Board to help guide the implementation of the company's new direction during the coming years, a time when experience in business transformation and complex operations will be particularly important. The turbulence and uncertainty in the global economy in the face of COVID-19 and the need for the company to navigate its strategic transformation through this unprecedented situation has only reinforced in my mind that moving early in this transition is the most appropriate way forward. Accordingly, I informed the Board of Directors earlier this week of my intention to step down as Chair of the Board of SNC-Lavalin and as a director, following the AGM, and once a successor has been chosen by the Board. The process for choosing my successor will be led by the Governance and Ethics Committee, and I have requested it be completed no later than September of this year. Let me say in closing, how much I believe in the potential and the importance of SNC-Lavalin as an innovative, global engineering services company, based in Montreal, with operations spanning the globe. A global Canada needs global companies. I've been pleased to be able to contribute to the renewal of this iconic company at such a pivotal moment in its 100-plus year history. And I have deeply appreciated working with such dedicated colleagues from the Board, management and staff. And speaking of our dedicated staff, I want to express the Board's appreciation and thanks to our employees around the world who've continued to deliver essential engineering services during the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread social and economic shutdowns. Thank you. You are such a key part of unleashing the future potential of this great country -- company, and we deeply appreciate it. And on that note, I understand the scrutineers have now completed their work. Arden, we move on? Yes. So based on their tabulations of the votes cast in respect of each of the items on the AGM agenda, I am pleased to report that, one, all 11 Director nominees named in the circular have been elected. A great team. Deloitte LLP was reappointed as our auditor. The resolution confirming the amended and restated shareholder rights plan was adopted. The advisory resolution on the approach to executive compensation was adopted. Both shareholder proposals were not approved and the resolution ratifying, confirming and improving certain amendments to bylaw number 2005-1 was adopted. The final detailed results will be posted on the company's website and on SEDAR. And with that, I now declare the formal part of the meeting adjourned. Before I turn our session over to our President and CEO to provide his remarks to shareholders, I'd like to take this time to thank our retiring directors: Jacques Bougie, Catherine Hughes, Alain Rhéaume and Eric Siegel, for their steady leadership as members of the Board, for their sound counsel and especially for their unwavering commitment to the company and its stakeholders through many challenging times. Thank you all for all your contributions to SNC-Lavalin. And now over to you, Ian.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. So this is my first AGM as CEO. And normally, I would like to begin by talking about the accomplishments of the past year and then share my thoughts on the priorities for the company in the months and years ahead. However, given the unique situation in which we're all living through right now, I feel I should start by addressing the immediate crisis. With that in mind, I'd like to emphasize how SNC-Lavalin has quickly adapted and continues to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company moved quickly to implement measures to be resilient in the current crisis. And this is shown by both our Q1 results this morning and how we see new opportunities as a result of the changing environment in which we operate. SNC-Lavalin brings a unique combination of global capability and agility to a situation that is unprecedented in our lifetime. At times like these, it is important to remember that we are a 110 year old company that has strived and thrived through many crises only to emerge stronger. More recently, in 2019, we faced a perfect storm of challenges, including reputational threats, contract issues that led to poor results. In order to deal with this, we were able to take action quickly and decisively within weeks of having been given the opportunity to lead SNC-Lavalin in June, I, together with the senior leadership and the Board, made decisions to quickly pivot and take the company in a new strategic direction. We reimagined our business. We honed in on our strengths and where future growth will be, and we objectively assessed what was no longer working. We reorganized the business into 2 distinct business lines, SNCL Engineering Services, which focuses on our highest value and most differentiated segments, EDPM, nuclear infrastructure services and capital. And this represents the future of the company and SNCL projects, which comprises lump-sum turnkey, known as LSTK projects and parts of the Resources business that we are expected to be winding down over the near term. We decided to exit LSTK contracting, which has been the principal source of volatility in our earnings and cash flow. And we decided to restructure our resources business, including exploring the possibility of closures and divestitures. We also understood the importance of reducing debt and rebuilding a strong balance sheet. We sold a portion of our stake in the 407 ETR, using much of that to pay down debt and to deleverage. We took many other decisions as well from taking cost out of our operations, to simplifying the business, reducing our global footprint to focus on core geographies where we are Tier 1 players or see significant growth potential. We have a business today that has the resilience and diversity for the current environment and beyond. We delivered a solid Q1 result against the current backdrop and reshaping of our company remains on track. In short, throughout 2019 and in recent months, we have taken proactive decisions that have significantly strengthened the company and reinforced our ability to succeed in changing circumstances. We have been tested in the extreme and have demonstrated our ability to be agile, resilient and make the tough but necessary decisions that have and will deliver results in a dynamic environment. We have applied that same experience and agility to our response to COVID-19. We acted quickly to protect our employees and have been a first mover in taking action to reduce our cost base and ensure business continuity, so as to best position the company amidst uncertainty. On the services side of the business, we were able to quickly pivot with our more than 30,000 of our employees working remotely, servicing clients around the world with actual minimal disruption. On the project side, we were able to continue our business as our work as a leading nuclear infrastructure, an O&M provider, has largely been deemed essential services. And in the main, we have been able to maintain continuity. In both projects and services and across the organization, we have been very proactive in adjusting our cost base to fluctuations in revenue, freezing CapEx, introducing temporary furloughs and reductions in compensation for senior executives and the majority of all of our employees. Going forward, we will take the same proactive approach as we adopt new market realities and new opportunities, and we are already seeing new lines of business emerge. We do not know what the future holds exactly, but there are a few things that we really do know. We know that the new strategy, which is designed to derisk the business and generate consistent earnings and cash flow has already delivered results. The second half of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 saw a marked improvement in our performance. Negative reforecast and losses associated with resources LSTK projects have declined with enhanced oversight and the LSTK backlog decreased by $500 million since the end of the second quarter 2019. At the same time, Engineering Services has grown year-over-year revenue and backlog and delivered strong segment EBIT. In addition to having a strategy that we know is working, we also know that our capabilities and our diversified portfolio of business lines will be essential as we transition from lockdown to a stage reoffering to bounce back on what comes post COVID. We are working with governments to understand how we can leverage our capabilities to meet immediate needs as we help to stimulate economies across the world and when we bounce back. In Canada, we are leveraging our experience deploying emergency shelter and mobile health units. In U.K., we are providing project management expertise to the government, and we are actively supporting a number of other governments with similar services and advice. We are also using our extensive engineering design and project management, procurement and environmental expertise to help governments fast track shovel-ready infrastructure projects. That will be critical to stimulate in the economy post COVID. We have seen what is possible when we apply our capabilities in reducing time, and we believe we can be the partner of choice in bringing extensive global expertise to bear. Clearly, we are living through a moment in history that will redefine what is important in the future. SNC-Lavalin has all the elements to not only effectively adapt in the short term, but to thrive in the long term. We have a strong balance sheet, a diversified portfolio in which we are a Tier 1 player in many markets. We have capabilities that will be needed post COVID and a strategy that will deliver results. Importantly, we have demonstrated through our resilience through difficult situations and proven our ability to act quickly, make tough decisions that have been the right ones for the business. So in concluding, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Board for all their support and guidance and working through all of these challenges. And lastly, a really heartfelt thank you to our talented and dedicated employees around the world. 2019 was not an easy year, and 2020 will also be a very challenging year, but I know our teams will be up for it and will succeed. And while the current situation has brought its share of challenges and its hardship, it has also brought benefits. Most notably, it has brought our organization even closer together. For the first time, all our people are sharing the same experience wherever they are in the world, in whatever their role is to play. It really has enabled true collaboration to take place across the whole company, regardless of geography, and this will be a lasting value left by this crisis. Thank you.

All right. Thank you very much, Ian. Back to you, Kevin. Kevin? All right then. Then we'll keep going. Now let's move to the question period. If you have not done so yet, please submit your questions online.

All right. Let me now -- I'll check online what questions we have. Yes, our first question comes from MEDAC and reads as follows: In its March 27 press release, SNC-Lavalin announced a 20% reduction in salary for its management in the context of its efforts in light of the 2019 coronavirus crisis. Why not have the salary reduction announced on March 27, apply to the total global remuneration of management, rather than only their salary? If not, why not restrict the contribution of all employees to the same proportion of their compensation as management? And furthermore, why restrain the possibility for employees to opt out of salary cuts by simply demonstrating that they are in a difficult situation. Ian, would you like to address this question?

Yes, sure. Thanks, Erik. So the salary reduction for the 3 months was actually a cash effort across the whole company to preserve liquidity. This is actually also to safeguard as many jobs across the whole company as possible during the pandemic. And it's actually also worth noting that longer-term incentives don't have an immediate cash position improvement. Because they run for a period of about 3 years. These, and any other bonuses, will obviously be aligned to the overall performance of the company through 2020 and beyond. And we've already disclosed that we stand ready to take additional action as necessary in the second quarter and beyond should the situation demand. So we're also obviously looking through all of these measures to preserve our capability and our world-class talent and remain available always to deliver for our customers. Thanks, Erik.

Thank you, Ian. We have a few questions that came through the platform. So I'll summarize them a little bit because some are a bit long. But one question from [ Anthony Schein ] that says long-term shareholders are monitoring the company really closely for changes in management, complete turnaround, put candles in the past resolve, as the Chairman said, the legal staff become a leader based on strongest division, whether it's infrastructure, EDPM, capital, nuclear, the whole engineering services. In light of the pandemic and significant challenges in the economy, how the company plan to make a response aligned with its long-term plan? And then in particular, maybe can you add a component on its highly trained and specialized workforce around the company here, it notes nuclear, but that also -- the cuts across the company? Ian?

Yes. Thank you, and thanks for the question. I think there are 2 parts to this question, really. It's the work that we've done in the company since we introduced our new strategic direction in the middle of 2019. And then obviously, the work that we're doing right now to deal with the crisis and deal with the post COVID crisis. So let me start really by talking about the work we did last year. This company has a great capability globally and through many, many parts of the business lines where we operate and the customers that we operate to. There are parts of the business that gave volatility to the performance of the company as a whole. And in essence, the main objective of the strategy that we introduced in the middle of '19 was to focus on all the strengths of the company, to provide consistent, predictable profits, earnings and cash flow and exit the business lines that have given volatility and unpredictability to the performance of the company. And primarily, that's in the lump-sum turnkey construction that we call LSTK. And I absolutely believe and I think we can see through the performance of the company that those decisions that we took, and the strategy that we now have, is the right strategy for this company so that we can build on the capabilities that have always been positive. And we can build, with our customers, on the strengths that we have to grow the business consistently.

Ian, your line cut. We can't hear you.

Can you hear me, Erik?

I can hear you, Kevin, and the line cuts, I'm not hearing Ian anymore.

Okay. I'm happy to take the next one then. Let's keep going.

Okay. Well, the next question would be -- let me just run through this here. And I'll translate. Actually, there are 2 similar questions in French and English, I'll bundle them together. The shareholder here. So one is -- well, actually, both are -- it's [indiscernible], an individual shareholder that's written in both in French and English, I believe. Yes, exactly. So in English it says, I'm wondering what actions are being taken to maximize the wealth of stockholders since the stock is trading at 2005 level. And long-term competitors, like WSP, have had more interesting returns to investors. Any comments?

Sure. No, that's an excellent question. I think in many ways the 4 areas of renewal that I talked about and what Ian talked about in his remarks are very much focused on it. We had -- we've had the burden of legal uncertainty hanging over us. We've had operational difficulties with lump-sum turnkey projects. We've had difficulties in certain geographies doing construction. And so we think that our strength, long-term, is the incredible body of engineers and people that we have and our capacity to bring innovative solutions to problems around the world. And that's our new focus, and we're exiting lump-sum turnkey construction and we're focusing on engineering -- high-value engineering services. And that transition is underway, and we believe very strongly that it's going to pay off for shareholders, for employees and for customers over the coming years. And so just as we've been around for over 100 years, we think our future in this new direction, with the settlement of legal charges, with the management team that we have in place, with the Board of Directors who are so committed, I think that is the best, I think, thing we can offer shareholders in terms of future growth in the share price and in the company's performance.

Thank you, Kevin. The last question here. Well, it's kind of a follow-on as to which -- what do you see is the future of the company in the short and medium term? And that's coming from [indiscernible].

Well, I think the -- I think our capacity, you just see it, if you look at the Champlain Bridge, if you look at some of the projects we're involved in around the world, we have a tremendous engineering capacity to solve the world's problems. And we've got to deploy ourselves more kind of to do that in a consistent kind of integrated way. And that's going to be our total focus, is on implementing and executing on that strategic plan going forward. And we think the potential for our markets in Canada and the United Kingdom and the United States and other parts of the world for those high-end and innovative engineering services is extremely robust. And as I said in my remarks, Canada is a global country and it needs global firms to succeed. And we firmly believe that SNC-Lavalin is one of those.

Thank you, Kevin. There are no more questions that I think you should address here.

Did I get cut off before I gave the tabulations of the results, Erik? If so, I can do that now before we conclude.

Sure.

No, Mr. Chairman, you were able to give the tabulation of results. This is Arden.

Oh, great. Excellent. Okay. So if there are no more questions, I'd like to -- I think it's time to turn it over to Erik to close. We really appreciate you joining us today. The virtual meeting still isn't as perfected as it can be, so we apologize for any glitches. And again, happy to do follow-up. I want to do 2 things in closing before I turn it back. One is, again, to thank our retiring directors who just made an enormous contribution to SNC-Lavalin through some very challenging times, Jacques Bougie, Catherine Hughes and Alain Rhéaume, Eric Siegel. They've been real towers of strength over the last number of years. Their commitment to the company is extraordinary. And we're going to both miss them, and we thank them very much. And then lastly, I want to thank Ian Edwards for his leadership over the past year. It's really been incredible. He sees the need to change our direction, change our approach, change our teams and he's done a wonderful job in executing on it. And also, I want to thank the senior management team for their ongoing commitment to the success of SNC-Lavalin. I think the whole team has really shown their commitment and it's been nowhere -- no more prominent than it has in dealing with both, our new direction and with dealing with COVID-19. So thank you all for joining us for our 53rd AGM. Stay safe, stay well. And Erik, to you for last words.

Yes. Thank you for being with us.

Erik, could you hear me?

Ian is back. Yes. Any parting words?

I think I managed to get back in here just at the 11th hour, and apologies to everybody for dropping off there, as Kevin said. And Kevin, thank you for those words, and likewise. I won't get the opportunity to thank you at the next AGM. And I would like to personally, on behalf of the team and my leadership team, thank you for the guidance, the oversight, the governance and the leadership that we have seen from you to navigate through some challenging times and into better waters. And certainly, we have worked very closely together over the past year. And I've enjoyed that time and I've enjoyed the way that we have navigated through that. So thank you, Kevin.

Thanks, Ian. That's very kind.

Thank you very much, Ian. Thank you very much, Kevin. Thank you all for being with us today. We wish you the best of health to you and your families, and we'll see you next year. Thank you.