SNC-Lavalin Group Increases Sales and Net Income in First Quarter (Part 1 of 2 - Financial Tables to Follow).

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 1996--SNC-LAVALIN INC.(TSE, ME: SNC.A ) The SNC-Lavalin Group increased its net income by 14.2 per cent in the first quarter of 1996, to $7.4 million from $6.4 million for the same period last year, or earnings per share of $0.46 compared with $0.41.

Revenues for the first three months of 1996 rose by 32.1 per cent to $287.3 million compared with $217.5 million in the first quarter of 1995. Of this total, $249.3 million came from engineering-construction, an increase of 38.5 per cent compared with the same period of 1995, and $38.0 million from manufacturing.

"In a domestic economy that is still weak and in a competitive international market, these results are satisfying" said Guy Saint-Pierre, SNC-Lavalin Group president and chief executive officer. "The increase in engineering-construction revenues is attributable to the growth of our sales of packages and to the contribution of Kilborn ($34.4 million) to our results," he added. Operations generated a cash flow of $14.9 million (before non-cash working capital items), or a cash flow of $0.93 per share compared with $0.86 per share for the same period last year.

Mr. Saint-Pierre noted that the sales backlog for engineering-construction remained level with the fourth quarter of 1995, due to continuous bookings and scope extensions of numerous small and medium size projects. Negotiations on major prospects are continuing, and should increase the sales backlog before the end of the year. "More than 67 per cent of this backlog is related to international contracts, he said, and 80 per cent of those are packages."

Among the new contracts won during the quarter on the international market were the $24 million contract for the third phase of the Yacambu Quibor irrigation drilling project in Venezuela and the upgrading of the Bagfas phosphoric acid plant in Turkey, a $13 million package assignment to be executed by our Brussels office. On the Canadian market, we won the five-year management contract for the maintenance of the 12 Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV) under construction, valued at approximately $33 million,and the $7 million expansion of the Chemprox plant.

Moreover, in line with our strategic orientation, we signed at the beginning of the year an agreement to acquire Pingat, a French engineering company specializing in the food industry.

On the manufacturing side, SNC Industrial Technologies has signed with la Gendarmerie francaise a multi-year agreement to supply its 80,000 members with the FX training system, an innovative technology developed by Simunition(R), its training ammunition division.

As previously announced, Jacques Lamarre became, at the annual shareholders meeting, the new president and chief executive officer of the SNC-Lavalin Group. Mr. Saint-Pierre, who becomes chairman of the Board, reiterated his absolute confidence in Jacques Lamarre's ability to lead the organization on capitalizing on the many opportunities it will encounter in the years ahead. "By establishing the Transport division and leading it to international stature, in only few years, he demonstrated the astuteness of his vision and the excellence of his management skills," said Guy Saint-Pierre.

Jacques Lamarre, for his part, said that he will pursue the global strategic direction implemented several years ago, "taking advantage of the high quality management team presently in place. At the present time, he said, some of our divisions are world leaders in their fields. I would like to bring other divisions to the same level, mainly through internal development, but also through acquisitions."

The Board of directors has declared today at its meeting, a dividend of $0.11 on Class A subordinate voting shares and Class B shares, payable on June 5, 1996, to shareholders of record on May 22, 1996.

The SNC-Lavalin Group is a Canadian company, listed on the Montreal and Toronto stock exchanges, with operations mainly in engineering-construction, but also in manufacturing. The company has some 6,000 employees in offices across Canada and in 30 other countries and is currently working on projects in approximately 100 countries around the world.

SNC-Lavalin press releases are available on the Internet at the following address: http://www.cdn-news.com

FINANCIAL TABLES TO FOLLOW

CONTACT: SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.

Robert Racine (Investors), 514/393-1000

or

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.

Suzanne Lalande (Media), 514/393-1000