Fluor Profit Rises 11.5% in Fourth Quarter

Fluor Corp. said profit rose 11.5% in its fiscal fourth quarter, but that most of the gain came from reducing cash for management performance bonuses, as the company anticipates another year of disappointing results.

The Irvine-based engineering and construction services firm also said continuing economic turmoil could delay anticipated contracts in Asian markets and depress earnings next year.

For the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31, Fluor earned $88 million, or $1.04 a share, up from $78.9 million, or 93 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 21%, to $4 billion from $3.3 billion, reflecting increased cash flow from existing multiyear contracts.

For the full year, Fluor’s profit fell 45% to $146.2 million, or $1.73 per share, from $268.1 million, or $3.17, the previous year. Despite the sharp drop in profit, fiscal year revenue rose 30% to $14.3 billion from $11 billion.

Fluor executives said profit for the new fiscal year should be in the range of $225 million to $250 million as the company continues a restructuring that began in the 1997 fiscal year.

Fluor’s stock fell $1.50 to $36.44 a share in moderate New York Stock Exchange trading Wednesday. The stock had slumped nearly 10% on Nov. 3, after company officials said the annual results would fall below analysts’ published expectations. It is off more than 50% from a mid-February high of $75.88.

Although Fluor has met its earlier goal of slashing $100 million from operating costs, officials said in recent interviews that even deeper cuts are needed to bolster what Chairman Leslie McCraw calls “unacceptable” profit.

Fluor took a $140-million write-off in its second quarter as a result of losses on several major projects. Since then, 100 executives--including four senior managers--and about 800 salaried employees have left. Fluor has closed or substantially reduced operations at several offices and has sold its Acquion electronic purchasing subsidiary.

Separately, the firm denied a report that it wants to sell major assets including its equipment and personnel leasing business and its A.T. Massey Coal Co. unit.