Fluor 4Q Net Up 31% As Revenue Rises

Fluor Corp.'s (FLR) fourth-quarter profit rose 31% as the engineering and construction company reported higher revenue, led by gains in its industrial and infrastructure segment.

Fluor, the largest publicly traded engineering and construction company in the U.S., has posted improved bottom-line results over the past year amid higher sales and strength in its industrial-and-infrastructure unit. The company has also recorded record high new project awards and backlog in recent quarters.

However, in the latest period, new awards fell 40% from the prior year and 37% from the third quarter. Backlog ended the quarter at $39.48 billion, from the prior quarter's record $41.83 billion.

The company's industrial-and-infrastructure segment--lately Fluor's biggest by revenue--swung to a profit from a year-ago loss as its revenue increased 65%. The unit's revenue has been a pillar of support for Fluor in recent quarters, as the once-dominant oil-and-gas segment has dragged.

Profit was down 9.3% in the oil-and-gas business in the latest quarter while the unit's revenue edged up 0.9%.

Overall, Fluor posted a profit of $153.1 million, or 90 cents a share, up from $117.1 million, or 65 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue increased 19% to $6.25 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 82 cents a share on revenue of $6.38 billion.

In November, Fluor said it struck an agreement with nuclear alliance GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to pursue a potential new nuclear power plant project in Finland.

Shares of the company, which reaffirmed its full-year guidance, closed at $60.36 Wednesday and were unchanged after hours. Through the close, the stock is up 20% so far this year.

 
   -By Nathalie Tadena, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3287; [e-mail]