Coffee Sipping Big Board Stocks

[EZ2]

<<~~~ clickback: Chicago Bridge & Iron 1st-Quarter Profit Fell 44% Amid Acquisition-Related Expenses

05/02 04:20 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.'s (CBI:$53.63,00$1.34,002.56%) first-quarter earnings fell 44% amid expenses from its recent $3.04 billion acquisition of Shaw Group Inc. and other items. However, excluding those items adjusted earnings were up as revenue surged.

The engineering and construction company has posted stronger results every quarter for two years as it won contracts for large infrastructure and engineering projects and worked to diversify its offerings in areas like electric-power generation--a market where demand has been growing.

CB&I's recent Shaw acquisition creates one of the world's biggest energy infrastructure companies. The combined company, to be called CB&I Shaw, will be involved in everything from building nuclear power plants in the U.S. and China to constructing gas-processing plants and oil storage tanks globally. The move also was expected to help reduce CB&I's revenue volatility, in part because Shaw gets more of its money from relatively stable and predictable work such as providing maintenance and retrofitting services to the power industry.

President and Chief Executive Philip K. Asherman said "Revenues are performing as expected and despite the postponement of a major LNG project in Australia, we anticipate that continuing demand around the world for energy infrastructure will drive our new awards for 2013 to be within the guidance range we announced earlier this year."

CB&I reported a profit of $33.6 million or 32 cents a share, down from $59.5 million, or 60 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items such as acquisition-related charges, adjusted earnings grew to 82 cents a share from 60 cents. Revenue soared 87% to $2.25 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently projected earnings of 73 cents a share on revenue of $2.18 billion.

Gross margin fell to 10.9% from 12.8%.

The project engineering, construction and maintenance business reported revenue more than doubled to $1.43 billion.

New awards rose 15% to $1.9 billion. Backlog was $25.5 billion, up from $10.93 billion.

Shares were down eight cents at $53.55 in recent after-hours trading.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

Order free Annual Report for Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. NV (CBI:$53.63,00$1.34,002.56%)

Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=US1672501095 or call [phone]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires


(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-02-131620ET
Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.