Net income from continuing operations at Fluor, Irving, Texas, fell for both the fourth quarter and 2021 as a whole, which the international company and Department of Energy contractor attributed mostly to a massive, pre-tax charge related to a Dutch pension plan, according to earnings published this week.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2021, Fluor suffered a net loss from continuing operations of $145 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, larger than the net loss from continuing operations of $61 million, or $0.76 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2020.
For the year, there was a net loss from continuing operations of $144 million, or $1.46 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $12 million or $0.94 in the prior year.
The $198 million in pre-tax expenses related to the Dutch defined benefit pension settlement was posted in the fourth quarter, Fluor said in a press release.
Fluor brought in $12.4 billion of revenue for 2021, down from $14.2 billion in 2020. Fourth quarter 2021 revenue was $3.2 billion, less than $3.3 billion a year ago.
During a morning conference call on the financial results, Fluor CEO David Constable particularly lauded contract developments at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.
Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions is receiving an extension to its management and operations contract at the DOE Savannah River Site in South Carolina, Constable said. In November 2021, DOE said it was indefinitely delaying award of a new operations contract at the site and keeping the incumbent.
Likewise, a Fluor-led group won the Integrated Mission Completion contract for NNSA’s Pantex and Y-12 Nuclear Security Complex projects in Texas and Tennessee respectively, according to a slide presentation on the results. The latter contract will result in up to $28 billion in revenue for the Fluor-led joint venture over its 10-year life, the CEO said. Losing bidders protested the NNSA’s award to the Fluor-led Nuclear Production One, but executives on Tuesday’s call said they believed the award would stand.
The company expects the bid protest to be decided by the end of the third quarter, Constable said. Until the Pantex agreement is final, it will not be recorded in the company’s work backlog, currently $18.9 billion. “We believe Pantex/Y-12 is going forward, let’s be realistic there,” Constable said at one point.
Meanwhile, in December, the NuScale small modular reactor developer in which Fluor is a major investor, announced a merger agreement with Spring Valley Acquisition Corporation, according to the Fluor presentation.
Fluor will still own more than 60% of the small reactor company, Constable said during the call. NuScale recently completed field work for a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for construction and operation of small modular reactors for the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, according to the Fluor financial presentation. That license application could be filed in 2024.
