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

Hello, and welcome to the AtkinsRéalis Annual Meeting. My name is Geneviève Simard. I'm Vice President and Corporate Secretary. On behalf of the 40,000 colleagues around the world and on behalf of the Board, it is my pleasure to welcome you here to our first hybrid meeting. Your presence both here and online demonstrates your commitment to our company, and we are sincerely -- and we sincerely appreciate the fact that you've taken the time to be with us here today. Before beginning the meeting, here's just a bit of technical information for you. Today's meeting is translated simultaneously, so for those of you online, you can select the language of your choice by clicking on the broadcast language icon at the bottom of your screen. You'll also find other useful information and resources on the left side of your screen. And finally, if it is not yet done that is also where you will be voting. The tab will appear once the vote is open. For registered shareholders and proxy holders present in the room, if you have not yet voted or you would like to change your vote, you can do this on the virtual platform using your own device or by using the tablet that was provided to you at the entrance. Now shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders will be able to ask questions up until the end of the meeting. Questions may be submitted either in person, by going to the microphone, by -- in writing or via the platform, by the video conference. We invite you to submit your questions in either English or French. To ask a question in writing, please select the messages tab, type your question to the box at the top of the screen and hit enter. You can also select or add the topic of your question, if possible, you can clearly say whether it is an official question relating to one of the five items on the agenda or a question of current business and then click on send. To ask a question via video conference, please click on the Request to Speak button under the Broadcast tab. You will then be placed in the moderator's queue. Once your connection will have been confirmed, your microphone will be automatically activated, and you'll be able to ask your question. Questions not answered during the meeting may be submitted to our Investor Relations team by e-mail at [email protected]. Live broadcast of the meeting will end at the conclusion of the question period. I would now like to introduce you to those who are here with me up here on the stage today, our Chairman of the Board, Mr. Bill Young; our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ian Edwards; and Ms. Valérie Dufour, Director, Corporate Secretary and Assistant Corporate Secretary. We also have Mr. Jeff Bell, our CFO, who is here with us in the room. Without further ado, I'd like to turn the floor over to the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Bill Young.

Thank you, Geneviève. Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you here today. It is a privilege for me to be in Montreal for our first hybrid meeting and to address our shareholders both here and around the world. I will act as Chair of the meeting, and Geneviève Simard will be our Secretary. We hope that you will fully participate in today's meeting by asking questions and voting on the matters of business before us. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for being with us.

Thank you, Bill. We will now begin the formal portion of the meeting. I invite you to review our forward-looking statements, which are displayed on the screen. I confirm as well that the Notice of Meeting of AtkinsRéalis, Inc.'s shareholders and related documents have been distributed to shareholders who were registered as of March 27, 2025. Ms. Martine Gauthier and Ms. Teresa DeLuca of Computershare are our scrutineers for the meeting. They have submitted the report to me as well, and I am able to confirm that more than 78% of shareholders are participating at the meeting, and we have a quorum. The vote will remain open during the formal portion of the meeting and up until the last item agenda is dealt with and that the vote be declared closed. A simple majority of votes cast is required to approve the matters submitted to a vote at this meeting. As there are several items on the agenda, we will ask Ms. [ Valérie Dufour, ] who is a shareholder of the company to move and second the resolutions that will be put forward to the vote. And finally, after the formal portion of the meeting, Bill and Ian will present their review of the past year. So let's begin with the first item on our agenda, the financial -- the consolidated financial statements and the auditor's report. Consolidated financial statements and the independent auditor's report and the management report for the year ended December 31, 2024, have been sent to shareholders who requested them. These documents are also available under the Documents icon in the upper left corner of your screen. I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce Mr. Andre Vincent, Mr. Pascal Lamoureux and Mr. Francois Sauvageau, representatives of Deloitte, who are with us here in the room today. I'd like to invite people in the room who have questions about financial documents and the auditor's report to come to the microphone. And for those online, you can use the platform. I see that there are no questions from the floor. I'm also told that there are no questions online. We can, therefore, receive the consolidated financial statements and the independent auditor's report for the 2024 financial year and add those to the minutes of the meeting. Now let's move to the second item on the agenda, the election of directors. This year, the Board of Directors has set the number of directors to be elected at 11. The section entitled information on our candidate for election of -- as directors in the Management Proxy Circular provides detailed information on each of the possible directors. Their biographies can be found on Page 17 of the French version of the circular. 9 of the 11 candidates are running for re-election, and Ms. Nathalie Marcotte and Mr. Sam Shakir are running for the first time. In accordance with the terms of the company's bylaws regarding notice requirements for nominations of directors, I confirm that there are no other candidates that have -- or nominations that have been received. I'd like to ask [ Valérie ] to move and second the resolution with regards to the election and re-election of directors.

Good morning. It is my pleasure to propose the following candidates for election as directors. Mr. Gary Baughman; Ms. Mary-Ann Bell; Ms. Christie Clark; Mr. Ian Edwards; Ms. Nathalie Marcotte; Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith; Mr. Robert Paré; Mr. Michael Pedersen; Mr. Sam Shakir; Ms. Benita Warmbold; and Mr. Bill Young. I move that all these candidates be elected and remain in office until the end of the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders or until the end of their duties.

Thank you, [ Valérie ]. Are there any questions from the room or via the platform regarding the election of directors? Since there are no questions, I declare the nomination process for directors now closed. We will now proceed to the vote. If you are a registered shareholder and you've already voted or completed a proxy, you do not need to vote again. [Voting]

Let's move on to the third item on the agenda, which is the appointment of the company's auditor. In the Management Proxy Circular, the Board of Directors recommends that Deloitte to be appointed as the company's auditor, that it remain in office until the next Annual General Meeting of shareholders, and that its remuneration be determined by directors. I'd therefore like to ask [ Valérie ] to move and second the resolution regarding to the appointment of the auditor.

I move that Deloitte be appointed as the company's auditor, that it remain in function until the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders and that its remuneration be determined by the directors.

Thank you, [ Valérie. ] Now let's see if we have any questions regarding the appointment of the auditor? Since we have no questions, we will now move to the vote. [Voting]

The fourth item on the agenda is the advisory vote on executive compensation. The text of this advisory resolution is available on Page 16 of the French version of the Management Proxy Circular. I would now like to ask [ Valérie ] to propose -- to move and second the resolution regarding to the advisory vote on executive compensation.

I move on an advisory basis and without diminishing the role and responsibilities of the Board of Directors that shareholders approve the approach to executive compensation as set out in the Management Proxy Circular.

Thank you, [ Valérie. ] Do we have any questions in the room or online regarding the advisory vote on the approach to executive compensation? Since we have no questions, we will now proceed with the vote. [Voting]

The fifth item on the agenda concerns the five shareholder proposals received from the MEDAC. Following discussions, it was mutually agreed with the MEDAC to not hold a vote on Proposals 3 and 5 at today's meeting. The text of these proposals and the Board of Directors' responses are included in supplement A of our circular. I will now invite Mr. Willie Gagnon, a representative of the MEDAC, to come to the microphone and present MEDAC's proposals 1, 2 and 4, which are being put to vote by shareholders here today. Mr. Gagnon, hello, the floor is yours.

Yes, hello. I'm used to saying Ms. Chair, Mr. Chair, I don't know who the chair is, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. My name is Willie Gagnon. I'm here for the MEDAC. We're shareholder and have been one for a while of the company. We've submitted five proposals this year, two will not be voted on, three will be voted on. I asked for an in-person. We're happy to be here in person with you after all of these years. I'd like to remind the meeting that we submitted the similar proposal last year, and we had 53% of support, and we're happy to see that result and not just that, but you've come back with an in-person. We know that you will continue to maintain the in-person. So we're very satisfied by that. We also expected to not proceed to a vote on a proposal that I was asking you to talk about the skills of the directors in a grid in the circular. And so to talk about climate competencies, we -- you did that. That was on Page 95 of the circular, skills around environment have been added to the skills. This is a best practice. We are happy to see that you have adopted that. And so there are three proposals that are going to be voted on here today. We're asking so with regards to the voluntary code of conduct around -- responsible management around AI, it's a long title, but basically, this is an AI framework in companies -- in all companies, not just those that are publicly traded, but we have companies that have moved to this code. And we can read in your intent that you have already undertaken and implemented a number of policies around AI, so use within a company, and we wonder why you have selected not to adhere to the code. It would not be complicated for you to adhere to a code given that what we see, you are already basically meeting all of the needs of the code. And so it would just lead to harmonization when it comes to a framework around these technologies -- these AI technologies across the industry. So we ask shareholders to support this proposal. The second one is around language that you disclosed -- languages that you disclosed and the numbers. So the languages that the company requires of its employees, we imagine that you have numbers on that, given that the French language charter in Quebec requires that if you require another language other than French, you explain why you require that language and necessarily there needs to be a register somewhere with the languages that the company requires of its employees. I would like to remind the floor that we have adopted an analysis and the reason why we are putting forth this proposal is the idea of corporate social responsibility. When we offer a job, one of the main contributions of the company to the society in general is the jobs that it offers and when you offer a job in one language or another, you support the community that speaks that language. And that's the reason why we have sent you this proposal, and we are very aware that we did not receive good support from shareholders on that question. In other companies, we have sent the proposal, but I would submit to consideration to shareholders the fact that some companies have accepted to disclose those numbers around languages, what languages required. And a [indiscernible] survey recently have said that a lot of people in the population support this measure despite the fact that very few shareholders can do it. We wonder why because there are a number of people here in the general population who are also shareholders of the company. Basically, I don't want to lose your attention. So we're going to move on to the last proposal, and you -- we ask you again this year for the implementation of the consultant -- the advisory vote on environmental policies. And we have obtained for last year, and I just have to find it here in my notes, last year, we got 23% support on the motion, on the proposal. So we're coming back with the same arguments this year. In your response, we can read that you determine this policy will not allow to replace what you're already doing to consult shareholders, and we never had the intention to ask you to replace what you're already doing by an advisory vote. We would just like to add the advisory vote practice, which would allow you to have the opinion of some shareholders that you don't speak to, so the small numerous shareholders, and you will be able to get an overview of what they think about the environmental policies, with the low cost as you're doing it already when it comes to the question of compensation. So thank you for the time that you've given me. I hope that I did not put -- set you back too much. But again, I ask shareholders to support the MEDAC proposals. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Gagnon. Do we have any questions with regards to the points as presented by MEDAC? Since we have no questions, we will now move to the last vote before concluding the vote. [Voting]

I declare the vote closed for all items as indicated in the notice of meeting. While our scrutineers are compiling the vote and preparing the vote, we would like to ask you to take a moment to listen to Bill talking about the work completed by the Board over the last year.

2024 was an exceptional year for AtkinsRéalis. The company recorded significant organic growth in its Engineering Services and Nuclear Energy segments. It generated strong free cash flows and built a record log, particularly in the Nuclear Energy segment, which is propelling AtkinsRéalis into the future. In November, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce awarded its International Business Leader of the Year award to the company's President and CEO, Ian Edwards. This reflects the incredible reputation of the company on the world stage. Critical infrastructure projects and cutting-edge nuclear technology make AtkinsRéalis' expertise more relevant than ever as governments and industries seek reliable, safe, efficient and diversified solutions to structure the world and provide it with energy. This fits perfectly with the company's purpose, shaping a better future for our planet and for those who live on it. The success obtained in 2024 is a testament to the pivoting to growth strategy. Over the last 3 years, AtkinsRéalis has expanded its footprint in high-growth geographies and end markets. Operationally, the company has also continued to enhance its efficiency. Meanwhile, AtkinsRéalis exit from legacy LSTK projects is nearing completion, significantly reducing risk and reinforcing our commitment to disciplined high-margin work. In March of 2025, AtkinsRéalis announced it would sell all of its remaining interest in shares of Highway 407 ETR, a toll highway traversing the Greater Toronto area in Ontario, for gross proceeds of up to approximately $2.79 billion. Net proceeds from the transactions will be deployed in line with the capital allocation priorities outlined at the company's 2024 Investor Day. With a strong financial foundation and a clear strategic vision, AtkinsRéalis has the flexibility to pursue value-generating opportunities like targeted M&A that align with our expertise and long-term growth objectives. Year-to-date, in 2025, the company announced the acquisition of a majority stake in David Evans Enterprises in the Western U.S., the first notable acquisition for AtkinsRéalis in nearly 8 years. We are excited about the prospects of growing the company's physical and technical capabilities in this region. Global infrastructure is at a turning point, across industries and regions, the diverse systems that support modern life. So our roads, bridges and water networks are declining and need absolutely critical upgrades. New infrastructures need to be designed and built, to be resilient and to meet the needs of the future. With these end-to-end capacities, AtkinsRéalis is uniquely positioned to help solve these challenges, thus ensuring that critical infrastructure is not simply replaced, but improved, more robust, better throughout and more efficient before the scale of current infrastructure investments is unprecedented. Governments are prioritizing the modernization now like never before with funding and incentives creating real momentum in key sectors. AtkinsRéalis knows how to navigate complex projects, both technically and from a regulatory perspective. The company is well positioned to take full advantage of these opportunities, building on these favorable factors. AtkinsRéalis is meeting the needs of its customers, strengthening its market position and creating long-term value for its shareholders. Perhaps the most exciting development in 2024 was the remarkable growth of the AtkinsRéalis nuclear business. Governments worldwide are seeking to secure an adequate and reliable energy supply to reduce reliance on foreign energy imports and to transition to stable, low-emission power sources. Nuclear energy is essential to that shift, and AtkinsRéalis is at the forefront. AtkinsRéalis exclusive license for CANDU technology and its expertise in the nuclear sector is a true competitive advantage. CANDU reactors are amongst the most efficient, reliable and proven nuclear technologies in operation today. And just recently, the government of Canada announced that it will provide a 4-year lending package to AtkinsRéalis for the development of next-generation CANDU technology. The government also announced new funding commitments and support for nuclear projects in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario. In 2024, AtkinsRéalis reached an historic milestone with the announcement of two new plan reactors at Cernavoda in Romania, the first new CANDU build since 2007. As the world continues to push towards the COP28 objective to triple nuclear capacity by 2050, AtkinsRéalis is uniquely positioned to help governments meet this demand through life extension projects that extend the lifespan of existing nuclear plants through the development of new reactors or by achieving breakthroughs in emerging technologies like nuclear fusion. AtkinsRéalis is a key player in shaping the future of energy. At AtkinsRéalis, the focus on sustainability imperatives is embedded into how the company operates and into its client solutions themselves. Its work directly contributes to building more sustainable infrastructure and providing resilient energy solutions by driving innovation in nuclear technology and engineering. Indeed, the company's financial and material success is aligned with long-term global priorities and with its purpose to engineer a better future for our planet and its people. In 2024, two new exceptional members joined the Board of Directors. Nathalie Marcotte and Sam Shakir have vast experience in engineering and nuclear servicing, respectively. Their knowledge strengthens our oversight and strategic decision-making as we continue to expand and pursue new opportunities. As a Board, we remain determined to ensure solid governance and rigorous management of risk. The new AtkinsRéalis era has begun, and it is defined by the fact that we offer excellence and stimulate growth. Thank you to all of our shareholders for your confidence, and all employees, to you, I thank you for your expertise, your dedication and your passion. It is your work that makes this company remarkable. The possibilities ahead of us are immense. And I have no doubt that AtkinsRéalis will continue to lead the way. Thank you.

What a year for AtkinsRéalis. Thank you for that, Bill. I can confirm that the scrutineers have now finished counting the votes.

Thank you, Geneviève. Based on the scrutineers tabulations of the vote cast in respect to the items on the agenda of this shareholders' meeting, I am pleased to report that all 11 director nominees named in the Management Proxy Circular have been elected. Deloitte was reappointed as the company's auditor and the Board of Directors is authorized to fix its remuneration, and the advisory resolution on the approach to executive compensation was adopted. And in addition, MEDAC's shareholder proposal #1, 2 and 4 were rejected. Please note that the final detailed results will be posted on the company's website and on SEDAR+. This is now the end of the official portion of our meeting. I invite you to now hear our review of 2024 as presented by Ian, our President and CEO.

Today, I feel good about the future of AtkinsRéalis. The transformation we have undergone in recent years has truly placed our company's position as a world-class global engineering services and nuclear organization. At AtkinsRéalis, we are not just responding to market trends, we are leading the way and defining the market with solutions that will shape the world of tomorrow. The needs are vast, and our expertise and capabilities are ready to address rapidly aging infrastructure, growing urbanization and increasing global energy demand. 2024 was a remarkable year for AtkinsRéalis as we met or surpassed all our key targets we set at the beginning of the year. AtkinsRéalis services, generated more than 15% organic revenue growth, reaching $9.3 billion, a record-breaking achievement, and we achieved a 9.4% segment adjusted EBIT to segment revenue ratio. At the end of 2024, AtkinsRéalis services backlog was up 25% year-on-year to $17 billion, a testament to the demand for our engineering services and our nuclear expertise. In 2024, AtkinsRéalis services generated more than $500 million in net cash from operating activities and a strong balance sheet with a 1.1x net limited recourse and recourse debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio. And this provides the financial flexibility to deploy capital towards the highest return opportunities. 2024 also represented the final year of our 3-year pivoting to growth strategy. We successfully delivered on all 3-year targets and significantly outperforming our organic revenue growth expectations. Between 2022 and 2024, we continued to reduce our backlog on Lump-Sum Turnkey Projects. And in March 2025, we entered into agreements to sell all of our remaining interest in our shares of the Highway 407 in Ontario. And as we embark upon our new strategy for 2025 to 2027, delivering excellence driving growth, we look to build on this strong foundation. Our engineering services business is driving sustainable growth in our key markets. In 2024 in Canada, we were awarded the contract for major infrastructure project for the extension of the Surrey-Langley Skytrain in BC and the new Île d'Orléans Bridge in Quebec. AtkinsRéalis also continued to establish its position as a trusted partner in services for water and rail improvements. In our U.K. and Ireland segment, we're appointed by Network Rail to upgrade and digitize U.K. rail signaling over 10 years and following several key wins to support the asset management plan, Period 8. For water companies, we secured a contract with Thames Water to support infrastructure upgrades in the U.K. until 2030. In the United States, we secured critical extensions with departments of transportation in Florida and Georgia, reinforcing our leading position in the infrastructure sector, where we continue to support the U.S.'s ambitious improvement plans. We were awarded contracts to rebuild the Broad Causeway Bridge in Florida and to partner with the State of Georgia to assist with its statewide resilience improvement plan. In Asia, Middle East and Australia region, we were awarded a contract for project management services for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix and a 30-year contract to support the development of a bioprocessing center in South Korea. In Saudi Arabia, we won contracts to support the renovation of Riyadh's downtown, including the iconic Mukaab. And in Australia, we were appointed to deliver engineering services associated with asset management of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and the city's new Western Harbour Tunnel. These projects are not just contracts, they are proof of AtkinsRéalis' ability to deliver transformational solutions on a global scale, positively impacting the communities that we serve. 2024 was a year -- an exceptional year for our nuclear business. We were awarded a major contract for the construction of reactors, C3 and C4, and the Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania, the first of its kind for CANDU technology since 2007. For year of 2024, nuclear revenue was approximately $1.5 billion, which represents a high for AtkinsRéalis and a 41% growth relative to 2023. AtkinsRéalis is not just participating in the nuclear renaissance, we are shaping it on the ground. And we have a real backlog with real teams in place, executing projects every day. The CANDU MONARK reactor launched in 2023 continues to gain momentum as a reliable, flexible and scalable solution for global decarbonization. In March of this year, the government of Canada demonstrated their support for our proprietary technology by announcing a preliminary agreement with AtkinsRéalis for a loan of up to $304 million over 4 years for the development of the next generation of CANDU nuclear technology. In 2024, AtkinsRéalis launched the Canadians for CANDU campaign to promote the deployment of CANDU nuclear technology at home and abroad in support of Canadian and global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. In the U.S., we were awarded an operations and maintenance contract for the Department of Energy's Paducah and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion plants. And we signed an MOU with partners to deliver small modular reactors in the U.K. to help the country meet its energy goals. Our achievements in 2024 were made possible thanks to our exceptional team. We continue to position our teams and services in the correct markets, the right markets, with the right skills, the right leadership and the right culture to succeed. In 2024, our Employee Engagement Index reached 87%, a testament to the strong culture we continue to build. AtkinsRéalis is not just adapting to change. We are transforming the world's future energy and infrastructure systems. And as we begin our delivering excellence and driving growth strategy, our ability to perform more effectively and deliver bottom line will become apparent. This strategy is built on optimizing the business to drive profitable growth, accelerating our footprint in growing end markets and regions, implementing AI and new technologies in our workflows and exploring untapped opportunities across the organization. As AtkinsRéalis continues through 2025 and look towards '26, we do so from a position of strength. Thank you to our employees, our partners, our customers, and shareholders for your unwavering confidence and support. I am more confident now than ever when it comes to our future. Thank you.

Thank you, Ian. Let's now move to the question period. [Operator Instructions].

I see that we have a shareholder question, yes, hello.

I'm a shareholder. I have two questions, in fact. The first being, I would like to hear a bit more about your long-lasting competitive advantages, especially when it comes to your close competitors. Surely, you're not the only one doing nuclear advancements. So I'd like to hear a bit more about your thoughts on that and especially how it pertains to the long term? That's my first question.

So thank you for the question. So a few things, but I'll hit on the highlights. First of all, I really believe that the culture within the teams that we have at AtkinsRéalis is a true differentiator. And over the last 6 years, we have focused on our people, and we have focused on building capability in our people. But more importantly, we're focused on how we behave. We're focused on who we are, and we're focused on being customer-centric and caring for each other and caring for the communities that we live in. Our purpose to engineer a better future for our planet and its people is fundamental to that. And we believe that we can attract the best talent as we grow this company going forward because of who we are. Now when we think about that and then think about structurally how we differentiate ourselves to win work, I think the first thing I'd say is what we do is working because when we look at our organic growth in the company, it has exceeded the organic growth of our peers in the industry. So that solution-oriented differentiation that we can put to our customers is part because of our history and the fact that we used to operate in the construction, but we don't now, but we still kept that project management capability. We apply that with our engineering capability, and we can offer what we call a full end-to-end service to our customers, understanding all their needs from feasibility to design through to execution and then commissioning and even operation. And when we add technology to that, particularly now with the advent of AI technology to that, then we believe our digital program and our technology program also differentiates us from our peers. And then, of course, our nuclear expertise. Many of our peers don't have that. We have this privilege that we have the sole rights to deploy the Canadian technology. And that's not lost on us because it's a responsibility as well as a privilege. And we have to deploy that on behalf of Canada, both globally and domestically. And you can see this quarter, it was 70% increase in revenue alone through our nuclear technology. And this enables us to access the energy market and the power market with all of our other 40,000 employees around the globe to, again, differentiate ourselves. And obviously, I could go on for an hour, but I won't. I'll stop there. But those, I think, are the highlights.

Thanks for the long-winded answer. It's great, honestly. My second question, I'd like to maybe learn more about what happens after the project is done because you clearly have the capability of attracting a lot of projects, but what happens afterwards in the sense that do you guys continue to get royalties or something after a project is done? If something happens to, let's say, a nuclear plant, are you guys under risk? So I'd like to learn more about that? Or is it just done after the project?

No, that's a very, very good question. So clearly, the utilities that we build nuclear power plants for or renovate, but most of our work at the moment is in the renovation and life extension of nuclear power plants. Obviously, we were pleased to get the first two new orders in Romania for many, many years, and we would expect to see more new orders. But the operation of the asset itself and the kind of ongoing operation is usually with the utility that we provide the technology to. However, there is always an ongoing service that we give to the utility providers. And as we move through this new renaissance in nuclear, which is very significant, as you heard from both Bill and my speech, what we're expecting after COP28 where over 25 countries committed to triple their nuclear power, we're expecting a very significant renaissance through new nuclear. We will try and offer more services to our customers that keeps us in the game, if you like, for the life of a reactor. The way we see that is it's potentially an 80-year lifespan because obviously, we build it, take 8 years or so. We're helping the commissioning. And then we will life extend after 30 years and give it another extension after that. And through that process, obviously, the technology evolves, and we help, and our customers put new additions to that. So we see this as a business that has a lot of longevity to it as well.

Thank you for your questions. I think we have another question.

Hello. My name is [ Michelle Goti. ] I'm a shareholder. Can you give us some details a bit about the impact of the tariffs, if there is any?

For sure. So we've obviously clearly done a lot of analysis around how we see this playing out, both with our business in the U.S., business in Canada and our global business. I think the first thing I'd say is, we can only define what we think the impact is today. I mean the world is quite unpredictable at the moment and things are changing fast. But the analysis that we've carried out today that the short story is the impact is fairly minimal. I mean we're a professional services business, and we generally deploy people. And because of that, we don't actually ship goods across the border. So our services are not currently subject to tariffs, and we don't expect them to be given the information that we have so far to date. We -- obviously, the secondary fallout from the volatility that's been created in the world from the so-called tariff introduction globally. But actually, our markets are holding up really well. And there's a couple of underlying trends that really give us belief in where we've positioned the company. One is, most infrastructure in the Western world was built last century, and it's come into end of life. And countries like our top 3 countries, Canada, U.S., U.K., they have to replace it. Water infrastructure, transport infrastructure, aviation infrastructure, it all has to be upgraded, maintained or replaced. That fuels a lot of our business. And then the second is the energy transition. Clearly, we have to get to an energy grid, which is double or maybe even triple the size of the energy grid that it is today for electrical energy. And that's fueling not just our nuclear business, which is obviously producing fossil-free power, it's also fueling our hydro business, it's fueling our transmission and distribution businesses. So we're really optimistic about where we've positioned the company and any impact that we would see from these tariffs is, in our assessment, minimal.

Maybe I just have one quick question. About Highway 407 that you want to sell, why? It's profitable, no?

So we've been on quite a journey, as you know, in the last 6 years. And it's been a methodical strategy that I put in place with my leadership team 6 years ago. And if you think about that journey and its methodical steps, the first thing we needed to do was fix the business, fix the culture, make sure that we perform for our customers, make sure we had a culture that was delivering what was necessary into the market and into the communities where we worked. The second stage of that was to focus on two things, which was just engineering services global business and nuclear global business. And organic growth was important in the, if you like, the middle of that 6-year period. As we move towards the end of that and successfully close out this last 3-year pivoting to growth strategy, it's now about investing back into the business. And it's now about investing through M&A and potentially through to shareholders, through buybacks and dividends, investing that back into the business as we move forward. And inorganic growth is essential to that. We have the balance sheet where we need it. But to dispose of the 407, it doesn't really fit with our portfolio any longer. And as it was a stabilizing asset in the past, our business is now stable and our balance sheet is strong, so we can afford to dispose off that and put it back into the company. And this is an exciting phase that we're moving into. An exciting phase of inorganic growth, of organic growth and expansion into the markets and the sub-end markets that we've chosen. So it's the right time.

I see that we have another question.

Christian [ Derjevan, ] I have been a shareholder for 34 years. I'm proud of it. Congratulations on the great results. I do have one question, you mentioned the transition to energy. A big part of it in Quebec will be the unprecedented Hydro-Quebec plants and generation, transmission. So do you feel that the credentials, the expertise and past achievements of Atkins position you in a unique way? And do you think you have because this is going to be significant, including [indiscernible] that you have the bench or will need to buy more companies to build all those jobs? I'm not asking for secrets.

No, not at all. I mean I know you know this. The foundation of this company was built on hydro, and particularly, hydro in Quebec. And those foundational elements from 114 years ago when we did our first job in Trois-Rivières is still evident in the company today, that we have and have been involved in 22% of all of the hydro projects in the world. This is a very, very significant capability that we have and that we've kept, and we intend to deploy it here in our home in Quebec as this new expansion program by Hydro-Quebec gets underway. I mean we're obviously working closely with Hydro-Quebec and getting ourselves ready for what should be a really exciting renaissance of improvement to the existing assets, but also potentially development of new assets for Quebec. So absolutely, we are. I mean our President in Canada, Stéphanie Vaillancourt, is very, very poised and ready, should I say, with her teams to deploy resources to that.

Thank you for your question. You can take the floor. We have another question.

Yes. [ George Jacobi, ] I'm also a small shareholder. And congratulations on the great advances and the great promise of the nuclear thing, which I worked on in the Foreign Affairs in Canada. I hope the Koreans and -- don't undersell us or the Chinese. You might comment on that, whether CANDU has been reengineered or could be reengineered to give you competition? Or do you think you have control of that? The other thing was that 20 years ago, I worked in Libya with the company, and we did a lot of wonderful things to promote the company in Libya with many large projects. And of course, there was a breakdown of the political system and a breakdown of the systems of control within the company, which led to some difficult times. I don't want to revisit any of that or ask you to comment -- necessarily comment on that. But I'm just wondering whether any of those projects in Libya were completed or whether the company remain involved in Libya, but also in a market like Algeria, which -- where I saw some of the company's accomplishments, and I assume you're still operating there and in North Africa.

No, thank you for the questions. I'll take the second question first. Before my time, we exited Libya, and we did a full exit, I think, in 2013 -- 2012-2013. But what I would say is that this first phase that I referred to before about fixing the business, it really -- we really needed to come home a little bit and exit many countries, to focus on what I call 3-core geographies at the time of Canada, U.S. and U.K. And that enables us to simplify the business and focus on ourselves, our culture, the way we did business and the way we performed and operated. But in the mid-phase when we said pivot to growth, we then started going out, and we've grown a great business in the Middle East. The next phase is really Asia and Australia, and it's kind of a sequential growth story from a strong foundation. So we had to come back and build a strong foundation. Specifically, the Algerian piece, we did not exit Algeria. We own -- part-own some assets there and we operate assets there. And we've stayed there to do that. And those assets are running quite well for us now. On the nuclear side, I mean, a little bit of information, again, I'll try not to answer this question too long. But what's interesting about nuclear technology is currently across the whole world, there are only six technologies that can be deployable today. There are plenty of start-ups, plenty of other companies that are trying to get into this space. There's only six. One is Russian, one is Chinese, one is South Korean, one is French, one is American, one is Canadian. And I think what's lost on many Canadians is Canada operates on the world stage in nuclear. And when many countries exited nuclear power, Canada stayed with it. And we have what I believe is one of the best technologies, uses natural uranium. So it doesn't involve depending on other countries. We've got an abundance of uranium in Canada. We use natural uranium. It also produces medical isotopes as a byproduct. No other technology does that. And I think we're well differentiated, not just as AtkinsRéalis, but as Canada. And we have about 5,000 people working in the nuclear business, but there's 90,000 people in Canada that work in our supply chain. So it's not just about AtkinsRéalis, this is about the whole ecosystem. And as we look overseas and domestically to deploy this, we will grow that. And estimates are anywhere between 300,000 and 400,000 people could be employed in the nuclear business in Canada. So when I said before, it's a responsibility as well as a privilege, we've taken that very seriously. But thanks for the question.

Are there any other questions in the room?

Yes, I have a question. Listen, I'm very enthusiastic with regards to the company's future. AtkinsRéalis continued just like SNC-Lavalin, and I'm a former shareholder of SNC-Lavalin. So I'd like to know, in another light, what mechanisms have you put into place to avoid any of the issues that SNC-Lavalin experienced?

Yes. I mean, numerous. And they actually -- we started changing the culture of the company from an ethics and compliance perspective long before I took over as CEO. But what we've -- with my predecessors post 2011, 2012. And a lot of that was in what I would call process command control discipline. What we've done over the last 6 years is kind of taken that really good work and embodied it in the culture of the business. And we are a very, very different set of people than we were 15 years ago. And we've almost transformed that culture into a culture that not just cares for each other, but it cares for the communities we work in, cares for our customers and our shareholders. We actually see that as a fundamental responsibility, a mandate under our purpose to engineer a better future for the planet and its people. And that's not just by engineering better assets. That's by being responsible about how we operate and where we operate. I mean this fixed stage that I referred to 6 years ago involved exiting countries where we would call them high-risk countries. And we're very, very careful where we work today as well as who we are. And I don't know if that kind of gets to the heart of the question. But that's the journey we're on. And it's going to be a journey that we're going to continue to prioritize as we become a company that's highly respected for the way we operate. I mean we do win awards for our compliance and ethics. We win awards for the way that we treat our employees, but it is definitely and absolutely something, which will always stay top of mind within this organization.

Do we have any other questions from the room? Yes, please go ahead.

[ Richard Santo, ] a shareholder. Do you have any intentions to do something with the dividend in the future?

So -- for sure, it's under review, yes. I mean we will be looking at the whole kind of returns to shareholders. I mean on the sale of the 407, I think the first thing is to do a significant repurchase of our own shares. And that will obviously return benefit to shareholders. I think in the longer term, we're absolutely looking at the dividend. And going back to what you might expect as a normalized dividend. Exactly when and what that will be, I can't answer specifically today, but we're looking at it as a whole mix of returns to shareholders.

So we have a question, yes, Mr. Daniel?

Yes, a brief comment and then a more substantial question. I would like to say that 100% of the questions are coming from the room and none of them are coming from Internet. So I see something very positive there. I just wanted to state that. Secondly, very recently with the elections that we saw, there was a new government in the U.S. and new government in Canada. And we saw a debate around redeveloping the Canadian economy, so energy corridor, electrification, the abolition of interprovincial trade barriers, right? These are the words that we're hearing now. So how do you see all of these things, this idea of the energy corridor, for example, with pipelines, I mean electrical power lines? Are you ready when it comes to the overall reconfiguration of the Canadian economy in the current context?

So I think where we would be offering services around any connectivity of electrical grid, I think this is where we have a very strong capability. Historically, the company owned one of the electrical grids in Canada, and we retain the engineering capability when we divested the physical asset. It is a key strength that, again, the history of the core company has. And we are seeing a really big uptick in transmission and distribution demand on our services to the point that it is also something from a capability that we want to expand. On the pipeline front, that's less so for us. We've not traditionally got involved in pipeline engineering. But for sure, all of the other kind of environmental impact assessment, all of the kind of planning and feasibility consulting, that's something that we would definitely be involved with. The energy transition as a whole in the world is putting a lot of demand on our services. And it's certainly an exciting time for companies like ourselves, as I referred to before, to meet the new demands of electrical life, around electrical manufacturing or electric vehicles and now data centers and the extreme electrical demand means that we've got to expand our grids. So I won't comment on any of the politics around it, if that's okay. But that's where we're at.

Any other questions in the room? Thank you for your commitment, and we don't have any questions online. Bill, I confirm that there are no other questions.

As there are no further questions from shareholders, that completes our meeting today. Before we close, on behalf of the Board and our shareholders, I would like to thank Ian for his leadership over the last year and the senior management team for their ongoing commitment to our success. I would also like to express our appreciation to our dedicated employees whose contributions are key to the future of this great company.

Thank you very much, and have a great rest of your day. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]