Strong margins deliver big quarter for Shaw

The Shaw Group topped Wall Street expectations for profits and revenue in its first-quarter financial report released today, reversing a loss last year on the back of $1.5 billion in new awards while piling up a total backlog of $20 billion in projects. Improving margins drowned out a slight dip in revenue, thanks to falling input costs. The engineering and construction company says it expects final approvals and licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the coming weeks, and that contributions from the projects will increase throughout the next fiscal year. Company shares spiked 16% on the news, up $3.66 to $26.32 as of this afternoon. For the quarter ending Nov. 30, Shaw posted a net income of $49.2 million, or 68 cents per share, and compared with a loss of $16 million, or 19 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Shaw plans to sell back its stake in nuclear power plant company Westinghouse to Toshiba Corp. to cut debt and strengthen its balance sheet. Excluding its Westinghouse segment, Shaw says it earned $35 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with a loss of $4.5 million, or 5 cents per share. Revenue fell slightly to $1.52 billion, from $1.54 billion. Wall Street was expecting net income of 43 cents per share on $1.51 billion in revenue, according to a FactSet poll. The company expects to post a fiscal 2012 profit of $2.05 to $2.15 per share, excluding its Westinghouse segment, on $5.5 billion to $6 billion in revenue. That profit guidance easily beats analyst estimates of $2.02 per share.