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MONTREAL — After a year of big earnings and a record backlog, AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. CEO Ian Edwards said artificial intelligence marks a key path to expansion and efficiency, and sought to tamp down any fears AI could eat way at the need for engineers.

“We see AI as a strong enabler in our business; we do not see it as a disrupter,” Edwards told analysts on a conference call, describing engineering as a “judgment based profession.”

The chief executive, who said the company plans to take a “disciplined” approach to acquisitions in 2026, said the technology is likely to speed up merger activity due to the leg up it offers larger organizations.

“As smaller companies try to invest in AI they will find that increasingly difficult, and companies that have scale and balance sheet like ourselves who are able to deploy AI at scale will clearly have an ultimate advantage from a cost-based perspective,” he said.

Edwards qualified that any consolidation effect from AI likely would not start to play out for a year or two.

The company has deployed a suite of tools for designing, modelling, surveying and safety in its bidding process, he said. It has also rolled out the technology for support tasks and data collection, with AI tools playing a role in departments ranging from human resources and safety inspections to taxes and finance.

“We see AI as a real advantage to enable our business to grow and to enable our business to have a lower cost base,” Edwards summed up.

In its latest quarter, AtkinsRéalis boosted its backlog by 22 per cent to a record high of $21.21 billion from $17.45 billion a year earlier. The increase came from new contracts signed in its engineering services and nuclear segments.

The company also reported an 81 per cent year-over-year leap in its fourth-quarter profits to $95 million.

Edwards was not the only CEO to address concerns around AI this week.

WSP Global chief executive Alexandre L’Heureux said the company remains more insulated from AI disruption than other sectors, largely due to the complexity of the infrastructure projects it manages.

“In recent months, many actors have painted all professional services firms with the same AI brush, worrying that we are entering an era where advanced AI will replace firms like WSP,” L’Hereux told analysts. 

But lumping diverse industries together makes little sense in an AI context, he said.

“An AI can’t negotiate with the city council in a construction permit, and it certainly can’t take accountability in front of a professional board if something goes wrong,” he said.

Like Edwards, L’Heureux said the technology amounts to an opportunity for WSP, allowing it to further leverage data and also help with the construction of power stations needed to power the technology.

AtkinsRéalis reported revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 totalled $2.93 billion, up from $2.59 billion the year before.

On an adjusted basis, the Montreal-based firm formerly known as SNC-Lavalin said adjusted earnings from professional services and project management amounted to 97 cents per diluted share, up from 26 cents a year earlier and roughly on par with analysts’ expectations, according to financial markets firm LSEG Data & Analytics.

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