Jacobs Engineering on Nov. 25 posted $3.4 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 27, a step up from $3 billion from the same period a year earlier.
The Dallas-based multinational reported earnings for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2019 before the market opened for the day. Its earnings per diluted share was $0.16, a $0.54 drop from $0.70 in the same quarter in fiscal 2018.
In addition to restructuring and tax-related charges, Jacobs recorded costs during the quarter stemming from its $3.27 billion purchase of industry rival CH2M in December 2017.
Also hitting its pocketbook was the pending acquisition of the Scotland-based energy services provider John Wood Group for the equivalent of $304.5 million. The Wood deal is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
Jacobs bought back $250 million of its stock during the fourth quarter and about $850 million during the past fiscal year, the company said in its earnings release. It is a move public companies often make when they believe their share price is undervalued. On Thursday, the company’s stock was trading at more than $85 per share, compared to less than $61 a year ago.
During fiscal 2019 as a whole, Jacobs brought in $13 billion, or $2 billion more than in fiscal 2018. Its earnings per diluted share from continuing operations was $2.09, $0.03 less than the $2.12 per share reported for fiscal 2018.
During the 2019 fiscal year, Jacobs also completed the $3.4 billion sale of its Energy, Chemicals and Resources (ECR) business to WorleyParsons. Jacobs said it is finishing its transition from an engineering and construction operation to a global technology-forward solutions company.
“Today we embrace a future of infinite possibilities with a new brand that reflects who we are and where we are going,” said Chairman and CEO Steve Demetriou in the press release.
The company has changed the name of its Aerospace, Technology, and Nuclear business line – which includes U.S. Department of Energy contracts – to Critical Mission Solutions. That renamed branch brought in $1.3 billion for the quarter, compared to less than $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018. For the year its revenue was $4.55 billion, rising from $3.72 billion for fiscal 2018. Jacobs’ increasing business with NASA is one factor, executives said.
The Critical Mission Solutions group recorded $87.7 million in operating profit for the quarter, compared to $73.1 million for the same period a year earlier. For fiscal 2019 its operating profit was $310 million, up from about $256 million in fiscal 2018.
Jacobs and subsidiary CH2M are partners in various DOE contracts at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, the Paducah Site in Kentucky, the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and the West Valley Demonstration Project in upstate New York.
The company’s largest cleanup contract is the $6.4 billion award to CH2M Plateau Remediation at the Hanford Site, which started in October 2008 and was extended this fall to September 2020.
The company is rebranding itself, changing its legal name from Jacobs Engineering to Jacobs Solutions effective Dec. 10. At the same time its stock market ticker symbol will change from “JEC” to “J” to reflect the change. Altogether, Jacobs employs about 52,000 people worldwide.
