Infrastructure boost for Fluor

Fluor said its net first quarter earnings were US$ 140 million, up from US$ 137 million for the same period in 2010. The result was boosted by significant growth in the US contractor's industrial & infrastructure business, which reported profits of US$ 92 million for the quarter, compared to US$ 31 million for the first three months of 2010.

Revenue for the segment was US$ 2 billion, up +60% from a year ago, primarily driven by growth in the mining and metals business line.

Offsetting this, Fluor's oil & gas segment reported lower contributions than the prior-year period. Profits at the division slipped to US$ 62 million, from US$ 92 million in the first quarter of 2010, while revenues declined by US$ 400 million year-on-year to US$ 1.7 billion.

Overall, Fluor's revenues increased US$ 200 million year-on-year to US$ 5.1 billion

CEO David Seaton described the results as "solid" and highlighted that the company's order backlog had grown to a record US$ 37 billion, while new project awards for the first quarter were US$ 6.2 billion, nearly doubling the US$ 3.4 billion in new awards reported a year ago.

"We continue to track a very healthy prospect list and believe that new awards will remain robust throughout 2011," Mr Seaton said.