Earnings fell more than 25% year-over-year at Fluor, Irving, Texas, in the third quarter, which the government contractor, active in the nuclear weapons complex, attributed to project delays and cancellations.
Net earnings for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 were $54 million, or $$0.31 a share, down from $206 million, or $1.15 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was $4.1 billion, up year-over-year from $4 billion.
Fluor released the quarterly results in a Friday morning press release, followed by a conference call with Wall Street analysts.
Quarterly operating income for Fluor’s Mission Solutions segment, where the company silos much of its Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) work, was $45 million, up from $38 million a year ago. Segment revenue was $635 million, down from $655 million in the year-ago period.
“While earnings in the quarter were less than planned due, in part, to certain project delays and cancellations, it does not change our focus on pursuing demand-driven growth opportunities in the markets we serve and on returning cash to shareholders,” said Fluor Chair and CEO David Constable in the press release.
Fluor is part of teams that this year won DOE contracts to manage radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state and run the NNSA’s Pantex plant in Texas. Fluor also sees ‘increased opportunities for uranium enrichment and deconversion facilities,” according to the presentation.
During the call, Constable said Fluor’s Greenville, S.C., offices, which often contribute expertise and personnel to DOE projects at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C., suffered some water damage during the recent Southeastern hurricanes.
Constable also said he was pleased that Tuesday’s race produced a clear winner for the White House. Republican Donald Trump, the former president, won both the electoral college and the popular vote.
Fluor is lead partner in the joint venture that operates the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site and has prominent roles in other contractor teams in the weapons complex.