Shaw Group 3Q profit jumps eightfold

The Shaw Group says its fiscal third-quarter profit jumped more than eightfold thanks to sharply reduced expenses from investments in Japan. The Baton Rouge-based engineering company posted net income of $68.4 million, or 79 cents per share, in the three-month period that ended May 31. That compares with $7.9 million, or 9 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue fell 3% to $1.79 billion from $1.85 billion. The results include Shaw’s 20% stake in the Westinghouse Group, which saw foreign currency translation gains of $34.1 million on Japanese yen-denominated bonds. Excluding Westinghouse, Shaw’s third-quarter earnings were flat, with net income of $49.3 million, or 57 cents per share, compared with $48.2 million, or 57 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude special items, expected earnings of 54 cents per share on $1.78 billion in revenue.