With New Airport Security Screening Assignment

In what is the largest contract in its history, Garda was recently selected by CATSA, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (Canada’s equivalent of the Transportation Security Administration in the United States) to provide airport security screening services for Canada’s Central Region, which comprises 15 airports located throughout Ontario, including Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson airport – the largest and busiest airport in Canada, handling close to 32 million passengers and 420,000 flights per year – and Canada’s Capital, Ottawa’s MacDonald Cartier Airport.

The five-year agreement valued in excess of $650 million, is effective as of November 1, 2011 with an option to extend for up to an additional five years bringing the contract to 2022 with a potential value of $1.3 billion. More than 2,000 security screening officers will be employed under the contract.

“Since 2003, Garda has worked closely with CATSA to build a world class airport pre-board screening operation consistently delivering high quality service for the comfort and protection of the travelling public,” said Chantal Baril, Garda’s Vice-President of Screening Operations. “As a vital contributor to Canada’s national security, our position as the best operator in the industry enabled us to secure this contract, achieving the highest score in a very rigorous selection process contract.”

“This five-year contract gives us a sustainable and predictable stream of long-term revenues with the potential to expand our screening services,” said Marc-Andre Aube, COO, Security Solutions at Garda. “We will continue to build on our expertise and lead the way in a very dynamic environment while generating stronger cash flows and improved profit margins, more in line with our other private industry sector security contracts.”

The new contract is expected to have a positive impact on the operating profit by Q4 of this year.