Fluor Slashes Its Annual Loss

Fluor Corp., which spent much of the past year selling assets and divesting itself of costly operations not related to its central engineering, construction and natural resources businesses, Tuesday reported a $60.4-million loss for its 1986 fiscal year. Company officials blamed the loss on the costs of operating in a highly competitive engineering and construction market.

However, the Irvine-based corporation’s latest annual results showed marked improvement over the $633.3-million net loss posted in fiscal 1985. And a Fluor spokesman said the company’s natural resources operations were profitable this year after producing substantial losses in fiscal 1985.

Fluor’s revenue for the year ended Oct. 31 totaled $4.66 billion, up from $4.1 billion for the prior year.

In the fourth quarter, the company lost $56.5 million, compared to a $569.9-million loss in the same quarter of 1985. Revenue of $1.07 billion in the quarter was down slightly from $1.15 billion a year earlier.

In the fourth quarter, Fluor took a $27-million loss from the sale of its offshore drilling operation. But that was offset by the $27.1-million gain the company reported earlier in the year from completion of the sale of its corporate headquarters to developer Trammell Crow.

Fluor also raised $39 million earlier in the year from a public offering of 10% of the shares in St. Joe Gold Corp., a company formed by consolidating Fluor’s gold properties.