WSP Global on the hunt for big companies as acquisitions climb the to-do list

WSP Global Inc. WSP-T is eyeing larger acquisitions once again after working to shore up operations and snap up smaller companies over the past 18 months, says CEO Alexandre L’Heureux.

“The last year was a year of consolidation,” he told analysts on a conference call Wednesday.

Following a spate of takeovers, the engineering company worked to scrap digital barriers between offices scattered across some 60 countries. Three-quarters of the firm now operates on a single software platform – known as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system – reducing inefficiencies that emerged as 15 more companies came under the WSP umbrella over the past two and a half years.

The buying streak included four consulting firms in 2024, adding 800-plus employees for a total headcount of 69,300.

But the latest acquisitions were small compared with some earlier purchases – the U.K.-based John Wood Group’s environment and infrastructure business for US$1.81 billion in 2022, for example – leaving the Montreal-based company ready for bigger fare amid a 22-per-cent year-over-year boost in profit last quarter to $184.1 million.

“Now that I feel we have significantly de-risked our transformation and the ERP conversion, I can tell you now that we’re open for business,” L’Heureux said.

He sees opportunities for growth in continental Europe, Australia and the United States – where the outcome of a presidential election later this year will have little bearing on WSP’s prospects, he said.

“Remember that WSP performed well under the Trump administration and we have performed very well also under the Biden administration,” L’Heureux said.

“Whether it’s a Republican president or a Democrat president, we feel that WSP is very well positioned to take advantage of what will take place over the next few years.”

He noted that Congress still has until the end of 2026 to award the majority of the US$1.2 trillion in transportation and infrastructure spending under a bipartisan bill signed in 2021.

Revenues for the company rose 8.5 per cent year-over year to $3.93 billion last quarter, driven by organic growth in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Offices in East Asia remain one of the company’s few laggards.

“Asia is going through a rough patch,” L’Heureux said. But the area accounts for a thin slice of its income, he added.

Elsewhere, contracts are piling up. When its second quarter ended on June 29, WSP’s backlog stood at a record high of $14.7 billion.