Rate reduction revs revenues

Some Canadian companies start new year with gains from U.S. tax cuts, analysts say

Some Canadian companies that earn a high share of their revenues in the United States stand to save big from a large reduction in the corporate tax rate, say industry experts.

New Flyer and Boyd Group Income Fund, which earn more than 80 per cent of their sales south of the border, will be among those that are most affected, an Altacorp Capital report said Tuesday.

Analyst Chris Murray said that among engineering and construction firms, Stantec and WSP Global will be “favourably impacted” from the tax changes and planned American infrastructure spending.

“We would expect that the introduction of new tax rules could serve as a catalyst for accelerated acquisition activity as a number of sellers see a window in which to divest their business to take advantage of the changes, benefiting the growth via acquisition strategies,” he wrote in a report.

Tax changes approved by the Republican-led Congress and signed by U.S. President Donald Trump before Christmas cut the corporate income tax rate to 21 per cent effective Monday, from 35 per cent.

Molson Coors, headquartered in Denver and Montreal, declined to provide details about how the tax changes will affect the brewery ahead of its quarterly results Feb. 14. However, 70 per cent of the beverage company’s revenues come from south of the border, said spokesman Colin Wheeler.

Brittany Weissman of Edward Jones expects Molson Coors will gain despite losing some of the cash tax benefit it has had from its multibillion-dollar acquisition of Miller Coors.

“Directionally it should be a net benefit … but how much it is too soon to say,” she said.