Shaw posts quarterly profit, lowers 2013 forecast

The Shaw Group Inc. posted profits of $113.2 million, or $1.68 per diluted share, during the three months ending Aug. 31, beating analyst expectations. But the Baton Rouge engineering and construction firm lowered its outlook for 2013.

According to the fourth-quarter report released Friday, Shaw’s performance was boosted by increased profits in its power and fabrication and manufacturing divisions, along with the sale of its energy and chemicals segment to Technip. The sale, which was finalized last month, netted Shaw $82.1 million before taxes.

During the same period in 2011, Shaw lost nearly $90.3 million. These results include Shaw’s 20 percent stake in Westinghouse, which was financed with yen-backed bonds. The exchange rates between the dollar and Japanese yen result in a loss of $12 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had forecast a quarterly profit of $1.36 per share.

“All of Shaw’s business segments continue to perform well,” J.M. Bernhard Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Shaw, said in a statement.

Bernhard said Shaw’s $3.2 billion sale to CB&I is moving forward as scheduled and set to close in the first quarter of 2013. Shaw also is selling its 20 percent stake in Westinghouse Electric Co. to Toshiba Corp. for about $1.6 billion in January.

Shaw said it is predicting revenue between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2013, and diluted earnings per share between $1.70 and $1.90. That’s below the $6.04 billion in revenues and $2.56 per share profits that Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had forecast for 2013.

For fiscal 2012, Shaw reported $6 billion in revenue, compared with $5.9 billion in fiscal 2011. The company posted $198.9 million in net income, or $2.90 per diluted share, compared with a $175 million loss, or $2.18 a share in 2011.

Shaw ended the fiscal year with a $17.1 billion backlog, with the majority coming from the power division, which services nuclear and fossil fuel plants. That was down from the $20 billion backlog at the end of fiscal 2011.

Shaw’s stock closed Friday at $43.69, down 67 cents, or 1.5 percent. The company’s stock hit a 52-week high on Tuesday, trading at $44.10 a share.