Technical consultancy services provider Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) on Monday reported an 8 percent increase in profit for the third quarter on higher revenues.
Earnings per share beat analysts' expectations by a penny, while revenues missed their estimates. Looking ahead, the company maintained its earnings outlook for fiscal 2012.
On a segmental basis, technical professional services revenues for the third quarter rose 3 percent to $1.64 billion, while field services revenues declined 2 percent to $1.13 billion.
Craig Martin, CEO and President of Jacobs Engineering said, "The third quarter was very much in line with our expectations. Gross margins increased, we managed our SG&A very well, and backlog continues to grow. Our new business outlook is robust, so we remain positive about both our fourth quarter and fiscal 2013."
The company's backlog at the end of the third quarter totaled $15.60 billion, including a technical professional services component of $10.2 billion. This compares to total backlog of $14.01 billion at the end of the year-ago quarter, including technical professional services backlog of $8.67 billion.
Pasadena, California-based Jacob Engineering's third-quarter net earnings were $97.90 million or $0.76 per share, higher than $90.68 million or $0.71 per share in the prior-year quarter.
On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.75 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Revenues for the quarter rose 1 percent to $2.77 billion from $2.74 billion in the year-ago period, but missed analysts' consensus estimate of $2.87 billion.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2012, Jacobs Engineering maintained its earnings guidance in a range of $2.80 to $3.00 per share. Analysts expect the company to earn $2.89 per share for the year.
JEC closed Monday's trading at $39.20, down $0.25 or 0.63 percent on a volume of 1.58 million shares. However, in after-hours trading, the stock gained $0.03 or 0.09 percent to $39.23.
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