The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that SNC-Lavalin sees the United States as ripe with growth potential in energy and infrastructure, key areas that helped the company swing to a profit last quarter. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe says that in the three months ended March 31, SNC rode its engineering services and nuclear divisions to net earnings nearly 15 per cent higher than a year earlier. The former segment boosted its backlog 25 per cent to a record $4.8-billion, while nuclear tacked on almost $1-billion more, lengthening its order list by 23 per cent. The fresh figures Tuesday pushed up the company's share price by $3.90 or 12.2 per cent to close at $35.88 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The jump marked a nearly 47-per-cent increase from a year earlier. SNC hopes to seize on its recent successes with further growth via mergers and acquisitions, particularly south of the border -- but not immediately. Chief executive officer Ian Edwards told analysts on a call that his company sees potential in the massive funding injection from the U.S. government via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, citing as an example electric vehicle battery plants.