THE CANADIAN PRESS

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EDMONTON - Engineering company Stantec Inc. (TSX:STN) reported its net loss in the third quarter narrowed to $10 million from $30 million as the company booked a goodwill impairment charge on the company's western U.S. operations.

Stantec said Thursday its loss per share fell to 22 cents from 66 cents while revenues rose 10.5 per cent to $384.2 million from C$347.6 million.

During the quarter, Stantec booked a C$35 million goodwill impairment charge due to fluctuations and continuing uncertainty on how the recession is impacting the company's engineering business in the western United States, a region hit hard by the slumping American housing market.

The goodwill charge is non-cash and doesn't affect Stantec's liquidity, cash flows fro operations, or debt contracts and doesn't impact future operations.

Excluding the goodwill charges for the third quarter of 2008 and 2009, net profits rose to $25 million from $23 million.

"Despite a difficult market and continuing weakness in some of our areas we have been able to post solid third quarter results because of the strength and diversity of our business model," said Bob Gomes, Stantec's president and CEO.

"Although current market conditions have necessitated the writedown of a portion of our goodwill, these non-cash charges do not impact current or future operations."

Stantec, with 10,000 employees across North America, provides services in planning, engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management.

In Thursday trading on the TSX, Stantec shares fell 44 cents to $26.56, a drop of 1.6 per cent.