ADF Group Inc. (TSE:DRX), a provider of complex steel structures and heavy steel built-ups, climbed to the highest in more than five years, after swinging to profit in its fiscal third quarter, driven by increasing orders.
ADF leaped as much as 17 percent to C$3.05, the highest intraday price since Sept. 2008. The shares were trading at C$2.85, up 9.6 percent, at 1:42 p.m. in Toronto.
Net income in the three months ended Oct. 31 was C$4.4 million, or 13 Canadian cents a share, compared with a net loss of C$1.2 million, or 4 cents a share, in the year-earlier period, the Terrebonne, Quebec-based company said in a statement today.
Revenue more than quadrupled to C$33.8 million, from C$7.7 million a year earlier.
Gross margin, as a percentage of revenue, stood at 25.9 percent, compared with a 2.3 percent negative gross margin a year earlier.
The company attributed the growth to recently awarded contracts, particularly the Trois-Rivières and Quebec City amphitheaters, and to the acceleration of a Western Canada order.
"We have recorded our highest level of quarterly revenues in almost ten years," Chief Executive Officer Jean Paschini said in the statement.
During the quarter, ADF almost completed the construction of its new fabrication plant located in Great Falls, Montana. The company anticipates fabricating its very first steel pieces in early 2014.
As of Oct. 31, ADF Group's order backlog totaled $55.4 million, and will be progressively executed over the next twelve months.