Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering brought in $3.1 billion in revenue during the quarter ended Dec. 31, 73 percent higher than the $1.8 billion reported for the same period one year earlier
Jacobs, which has a wide footprint in the Energy Department nuclear cleanup complex through subsidiary CH2M, reported earnings Tuesday for the first quarter of its fiscal 2019, which began on Oct. 1.
The company recorded quarterly net earnings of $124 million and earnings per share of $0.86. The numbers are dramatically increased from $2 million and $0.02 EPS for the first quarter of fiscal 2018. Jacobs also reported operating profit of $113 million during the latest quarter, compared to a $4.6 million loss during the same period a year earlier.
Jacobs’ Aerospace, Technology, Environmental, and Nuclear segment, which houses its DOE cleanup ventures, showed an operating profit of $72.1 million for the quarter, up from $61 million on a year-over-year basis. The segment reported revenue of $1 billion, compared to $710 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2018.
The CH2M addition in December 2017 helped the Jacobs nuclear segment’s “focus on high priority federal programs,” according to the company’s earnings slide presentation. The segment has a “robust government services pipeline.” Defense and NASA contracts also bolstered the segment’s performance, as did a nuclear cleanup contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Jacobs Chairman and CEO Steve Demetriou in the earnings call.
After a delay of more than a year, the Army Corps in September authorized Jacobs Field Services North America to begin work on the $350 million project near Pittsburgh under the Formerly Utilized Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).
“Under this [Shallow Land Disposal Area] contract we’ll handle all aspects from planning through processing of radioactively contaminated soil, sediments and debris,” the CEO said.
Company-wide earnings highlights include the anticipated June closure of the sale of its Energy, Chemicals, and Resources business to Australian engineering company WorleyParsons, as well as corporate restructuring connected to the CH2M buyout. WorleyParsons agreed in October to buy the Jacobs ECR business in a transaction valued at $3.3 billion.
Jacobs has nearly completed its integration of CH2M, executives said. The new acquisition has now moved to the Jacobs method for record-keeping and reporting projects in the backlog, company managers said.
After-tax transaction costs stemming from closing of the purchase, and the pending sale of ECR, dropped from $51 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 to $5 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2019.
Once the energy and chemicals business is sold, Jacobs will bring in 79 percent of its revenue from the United States and 21 percent internationally. During fiscal 2018, Jacobs received 36 percent of its revenue from outside the United States, said spokeswoman Lorrie Crum.
Jacobs holds several DOE environmental remediation awards under its own name or through CH2M. It leads the Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, which has a 10-year, $1.5 billion remediation contract at the Paducah Site in Kentucky. It also leads the $544 million CH2M Hill BWXT West Valley contract in New York and has the $5.8 billion CH2M Hill Central Plateau cleanup contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
