A major Chicago-area acquisition that closed at the end of January allowed the Boyd Group Income Fund to report significant increases in revenue and net income for the quarter ending March 31, 2004.

The Winnipeg-based collision repair company now owns 81 corporate locations throughout Western Canada and the U.S., and 11 franchised outlets.

The Boyd Group reported revenue of $42.7 million for the quarter, an 18 per cent increase over the same quarter last year and net income of $1.6 million, compared to a loss of $260,000 last year.

The year-over-year increase in sales and earnings is primarily attributable to the company's integration of the 16-location Gerber Group in Chicago as of the end of January. The acquisition is expected to produce $70 million in annualized revenue.

"The Gerber Group was a very important acquisition for Boyd," Terry Smith, CEO of the Boyd Group, said in an interview. "It was a profitable business and it had excellent relationships with insurance companies and some operating technologies that we are now able to leverage to our other operations in the U.S."