LAIDLAW TRANSPORTATION &lt;LDMFA> SEES BETTER YEAR

  Laidlaw Transportation Ltd said
  earnings per share for the current fiscal year should increase
  by "substantially more" than the 30 pct average annual growth
  experienced in the last four years.
      Revenues for the year ended August 31 will be about 1.2
  billion dlrs, including GSX Corp, the U.S. waste services unit
  acquired from Imasco Ltd last year for 358 mln dlrs, Laidlaw
  president Michael de Groote told analysts.
      Last year, Laidlaw had operating earnings of 66.2 mln dlrs,
  or 63 cts per share, on revenues of 717.8 mln dlrs.
      De Groote also said the company expects "excellent results"
  in the second quarter ended February 28, but would not be more
  specific.
      He said his revenue estimate for fiscal 1987 does not
  include possible further acquisitions and said that the
  addition of GSX will produce increasing benefits in fiscal 1988
  through fiscal 1990.
      De Groote said the increased earnings in the previous four
  quarters was due partly to internal growth of about 15 pct. The
  rest came from acquisitions, he said.
      Laidlaw expects to sell a small rubber recycling operation,
  a subsidiary of GSX, within the next few weeks, but this will
  not make any material contribution to earnings, de Groote said.
      He also said he is "not very optimistic" about the ongoing
  negotiations to buy 50 pct of Tricil Ltd, a Toronto-based
  chemical and solid waste services company with Canadian and
  U.S. operations, from &lt;Trimac Ltd> of Calgary.
      De Groote said that, regardless of the outcome of the
  proposed Tricil acquisition, Laidlaw will decide within the
  next 30 days whether to stay in the North American chemical
  waste business through GSX Corp.
      "We feel it is a profitable business with good growth
  potential and we now want to stay in it if we can get the right
  management," de Groote said.
      Laidlaw financed the acquisition of GSX by its U.S.
  subsidiary, Laidlaw Transportation Inc, with the proceeds of a
  200 mln Canadian dlr preferred stock issue and borrowing.
      De Groote said the company will gain about 138 mln dlrs in
  cash by August 31 from the exercise of warrants.
      De Groote also said waste services in fiscal 1987 will
  represent about 49 pct of revenues, school buses will
  contribute 49 pct and trucking about two pct.
      The trucking subsidiary in western Canada is performing
  well and there are no plans to sell it, he said.
      He would not estimate the contribution of each segment to
  earnings per share for the year. He also said that further
  acquisitions of school bus operations in the U.S. are likely
  within the next few months.
  

