Shaw posts first-quarter loss

The Shaw Group posted a loss Thursday for its first quarter as the Japanese yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar, eroding the engineering and construction company’s returns on its stake in nuclear power plant builder Westinghouse. Excluding the Westinghouse results, however, Shaw’s adjusted profit beat analyst estimates. For the three months ending Nov. 30, Shaw lost $39.9 million, or 48 cents per share, on revenue of $1.9 billion, compared with a year-ago profit in the first quarter of $2.2 million, or 3 cents per share, on revenue of $1.71 billion. The company took a noncash loss of $161.2 million because of appreciation of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar. That loss amounted to $57.2 million in the year-ago first quarter. Without the Westinghouse nuclear segment, of which Shaw owns 20%, the company earned $62.8 million, or 75 cents per share, compared with the year-ago figure of $37.7 million, or 45 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast per-share earnings of 66 cents on revenue of $1.91 billion for the latest quarter. Shaw says its 11% revenue increase was driven by a contract for a power plant contract. The company’s backlog of pending orders rose to $14.8 billion from $14 billion a year ago, with about $6 billion expected to bring in revenue over the next 12 months, Shaw says. That backlog does not contain amounts related to the company’s recently announced deals to build six nuclear reactors in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Shares of Shaw were trading at over $26.25 as of 11 a.m. today, a jump of more than $4, or 18.5%.