Urbco wins Cam Bay school construction contract
| Fact file: Urbco on the half-year |
| For the six months ended, Jan. 21, unaudited profit fell 23 per cent to $853,806 from $1.12 million. |
| Expenses were down to $1.5 million from $1.8 million. |
| Revenue, at $14.8 million, was down from $22.1 million. |
| Assets jumped to $124.8 million from $80.2 million. Capital assets, part of total assets, more than doubled to $104.7 million from $51.6 million. |
| Over the six months, Urbco spent $7.1 million on acquisition of capital assets. Other purchase costs were $3 million for Nova Construction assets and $4.1 million for acquisition of properties under development. |
| At Jan. 31, shareholders' equity was $124.8 million, up from $80.2 million. |
Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Apr 10/00) - Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Urbco Inc.'s subsidiary Ninety North Construction has been awarded the Cambridge Bay school contract, the real estate company announced.
Cambridge Bay students are currently attending classes at a number of temporary locations after fire destroyed the old school.
"We are pleased to have been selected to help provide this much needed school for high school students in Cambridge Bay," said Jack op der Heijde, president of Ninety North.
The new school -- the contract was awarded by the Nunavut Government -- is scheduled for completion in January 2002, and has a construction budget of $11.5 million. The 3,397-square metre Kiilinik high school will be designed by Yellowknife-based Pin/Matthews Architects.
The school contract is among several announcements made by the company in recent weeks.
- April 7, Urbco was scheduled to buy back shares. Share buybacks, also known as normal course issuer bids, are often done when a company's board believes the stock is undervalued.
- March 22, Urbco hired merger and acquisition advisory company Calgary-based Synergy partners to pursue an acquisition growth strategy.
- Feb. 24, Urbco completed its listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The listing positions the Calgary-based company to access important new sources of capital to sustain what it calls an "aggressive growth strategy" during Northern Canada expansion plans. Urbco was expected to announce last Friday it will de-list from the Canadian Venture Exchange.
- Feb. 3, Urbco closes its $32.3-million real estate deal. The purchase included most of the assets of Nova Construction (1987) Ltd. The properties are located in five Nunavut communities, primarily Iqaluit, as well as in Yellowknife. The deal included $3 million cash, $2 million in vendor take-back and 1.1 million Urbco shares at $3.10 each.
- Jan. 21, Urbco concluded its purchase of Humford Development's residential rental units in Yellowknife.
Urbco is the largest holder of rental properties in Nunavut and the NWT. The company owns 910 housing units and 200,000 square feet of commercial space.
In addition to expansion in Nunavut and NWT, Urbco is considering expanding its rental property interests into the Yukon, communities in northern areas of the provinces and Greenland.
