Fluor Corp. reports third quarter results

Fluor Corporation announced financial results for its quarter ended 30 September, 2020, reporting US$129 million in consolidated quarterly profit over US$79 million for the same period last year, thanks to its Energy & Chemicals, Infrastructure & Power, and Government segments.

Revenue for the quarter was relatively flat at US$3.8 billion, compared to US$3.9 billion reported in 2019, and net earnings from continuing operations attributable to Fluor was US$19 million. Operating cash flow in the quarter was US$80 million.

New awards for the third quarter were US$1.7 billion and ending backlog was US$27.8 billion.

Corporate general and administrative expenses for the quarter were US$68 million which included foreign currency transaction losses of US$30 million and investigation expenses of US$19 million in the quarter.

Regarding segment performance, the Energy & Chemicals segment reported profit of US$95 million in the third quarter of 2020, up from US$85 million in the third quarter of 2019. Improvement is primarily attributed to increased activity on a liquefied natural gas project and favorable foreign currency transaction gains.

The Infrastructure & Power segment reported profit of US$6 million in the third quarter of 2020 compared to US$1 million in the third quarter of 2019. Meanwhile, the Government segment reported profit of US$26 million in the third quarter of 2020, up from US$22 million in the third quarter of 2019.

“With [this latest] 10-Q filing, Fluor is now current with its financials,” said Carlos Hernandez, Fluor’s chief executive officer, who will retire at the end of this year, handing the reins over to David E. Constable. “While 2020 has provided a lot of unexpected challenges for our business, we are pleased to report that for the third consecutive quarter, we have had no material project execution charges.”

Although Fluor suspended its guidance for 2020, the company expects to report fourth quarter results and 2021 guidance to the investment community in February 2021. The company expects its cash balance to remain around US$2 billion through the end of the year.

The full quarterly report from the company says COVID-19 continues to impact the business as clients are deferring capital investment decisions and the pandemic has slowed down Fluor’s ability to fully staff and execute projects.