(RTTNews) - Engineering and construction firm McDermott International Inc. (MDR: News ) said Monday after the markets closed that its third quarter profit rose 38% from last year, as strong growth in its offshore oil & gas construction and government operations segments offset weakness in its power generation systems segment.

The Houston, Texas-based company reported net income for the third quarter of $118.1 million or $0.50 per share, compared to $85.6 million or $0.37 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Operating income for the quarter rose 57% to $144.8 million from $92.0 million in the prior year quarter.

Revenue for the third quarter increased to $1.68 billion from $1.66 billion in the same quarter last year. Twelve analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.53 billion for the third quarter.

Third quarter revenues in the company's offshore oil & gas construction segment rose 26% to $1.03 billion from $814.7 million for the same period a year ago, as higher revenues in the Middle East and Caspian regions more than offset reduced levels in other regions.

Revenues in the government operations segment increased 17% to $259.8 million in the third quarter from $222.4 million a year ago.

Third quarter revenues in the power generation systems segment fell 38% to $389.6 million from $631.0 million last year, mainly due to reduced activity on customers' major capital projects, including new power plant construction and retrofits of existing power plants.
McDermott ended the quarter with a consolidated backlog of $8.5 billion, compared to $9.4 billion at the end of the prior year quarter and $9.5 billion at the end of the prior quarter.

John Fees, Chief Executive Officer of McDermott, said, "As we expected, bookings were light, however the bidding activity remained at a high level while the Company's liquidity and balance sheet continued to improve."

For the first nine months, the company reported net income of $288.4 million or $1.24 per share, compared to $386.3 million or $1.68 per share for the same period last year.

Revenue for the nine-month period fell to $4.73 billion from $4.91 billion in the prior year period.

Among others in the industry, Fluor Corp. (FLR) today reported an 11% drop in third quarter profit, hurt by weak performance at its oil & gas sand the global services segments. The company also lowered its earnings outlook for fiscal year 2009.

McDermott shares, which have traded in a range of $5.98 to $27.89 over the past year, closed Monday's regular trading session at $24.16, up 27 cents or 1.13% and gained an additional 4 cents in after hours trading.

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by RTT Staff Writer

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