Shaw Group loses $16M during fiscal 3Q

The Shaw Group says its losses narrowed in its fiscal third quarter, though most of that reduction is due to the fact that the company took a special impairment charge in the same period last year. The Baton Rouge-based technology and engineering firm reports today a net loss of $16 million, or 24 cents per share, for the three months ended May 31. That compares with a loss of $70 million, or 89 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2011. The year-ago period included an impairment charge of $48.1 million. Per-share results reflect a 16% drop in the number of outstanding shares in the recent quarter from a year ago. Revenue increased by 5% in the quarter to $1.56 billion, from $1.49 billion last year. Analysts, on average, had expected revenue of $1.48 billion, according to FactSet. Shaw says its quarterly losses were mainly due to costs associated with winding down its energy and chemicals business, which it expects to sell to French oilfield services group Technip for $300 million in the fourth quarter. Shaw also took a $12.4 million charge related to a legal settlement with GenOn Mid-Atlantic over a 2007 power plant contract. Shaw says it expects to earn adjusted profit between $2.20 and $2.30 per share on revenue of $5.5 billion to $6 billion in its fiscal 2012 year. Analysts, on average, expect adjusted profit of $2.16 per share, with estimates ranging from $1.90 to $2.29.