LAIDLAW TRANSPORTATION <LDMFA> SEES BETTER YEAR
Laidlaw Transportation Ltd said
earnings per share for the current fiscal year should increase
by "substantially more" than the 30 pct average annual growth
experienced in the last four years.
    Revenues for the year ended August 31 will be about 1.2
billion dlrs, including GSX Corp, the U.S. waste services unit
acquired from Imasco Ltd last year for 358 mln dlrs, Laidlaw
president Michael de Groote told analysts.
    Last year, Laidlaw had operating earnings of 66.2 mln dlrs,
or 63 cts per share, on revenues of 717.8 mln dlrs.
    De Groote also said the company expects "excellent results"
in the second quarter ended February 28, but would not be more
specific.
    He said his revenue estimate for fiscal 1987 does not
include possible further acquisitions and said that the
addition of GSX will produce increasing benefits in fiscal 1988
through fiscal 1990.
    De Groote said the increased earnings in the previous four
quarters was due partly to internal growth of about 15 pct. The
rest came from acquisitions, he said.
    Laidlaw expects to sell a small rubber recycling operation,
a subsidiary of GSX, within the next few weeks, but this will
not make any material contribution to earnings, de Groote said.
    He also said he is "not very optimistic" about the ongoing
negotiations to buy 50 pct of Tricil Ltd, a Toronto-based
chemical and solid waste services company with Canadian and
U.S. operations, from <Trimac Ltd> of Calgary.
    De Groote said that, regardless of the outcome of the
proposed Tricil acquisition, Laidlaw will decide within the
next 30 days whether to stay in the North American chemical
waste business through GSX Corp.
    "We feel it is a profitable business with good growth
potential and we now want to stay in it if we can get the right
management," de Groote said.
    Laidlaw financed the acquisition of GSX by its U.S.
subsidiary, Laidlaw Transportation Inc, with the proceeds of a
200 mln Canadian dlr preferred stock issue and borrowing.
    De Groote said the company will gain about 138 mln dlrs in
cash by August 31 from the exercise of warrants.
    De Groote also said waste services in fiscal 1987 will
represent about 49 pct of revenues, school buses will
contribute 49 pct and trucking about two pct.
    The trucking subsidiary in western Canada is performing
well and there are no plans to sell it, he said.
    He would not estimate the contribution of each segment to
earnings per share for the year. He also said that further
acquisitions of school bus operations in the U.S. are likely
within the next few months.
 Reuter
