Fluor Earnings Tumble in 2015

Fluor Corp. said last week that its 2015 earnings were hit hard by a $240-million pension settlement and expenses related to a gas-fired power plant in Virginia that is taking longer than expected to open.

The Irving, Texas-based construction and energy giant, which in February won a $1.4 billion contract to manage legacy waste cleanup at the Energy Department’s Idaho Site, earned a net $418 million, or $2.85 per diluted share, in 2015, down from $715 million, or $4.48 per share, in 2014. Revenue fell to $18.1 billion in 2015 from $21.5 billion in the prior year, the company said in a press release.

Excluding the $240 million pension payment, which the company booked in its fourth quarter, 2015 earnings on continuing operations were $571 million, or $3.89 a share.

Fluor canceled pension benefits for some U.S. salaried employees in 2014 and recognized the associated expenses to its employees in the final quarter of 2015. That led to a net loss of $51 million, or 36 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, Fluor said.

On Feb. 4, DOE announced Fluor had won its Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) Core contract: a deal that phases in on June 1 and, including options, would run for five years. The pact combines cleanup work previously handled under a pair of separate contracts. For ICP Core, Fluor beat out another team rumored to be led by AECOM, which has not protested the department’s decision.

Fluor is also a partner in cleanup projects at the DOE’s Portsmouth, Ohio, and Paducah, Ky., sites.