Foster Wheeler Q2 Profit More Than Doubles; Raises FY13 Profit View

(RTTNews) - Foster Wheeler AG (FWLT) reported that its second-quarter net income attributable to the company was $70.70 million or $0.71 per share, up from $30.86 million or $0.29 per share in the same quarter last year.

Income from continuing operations attributable to the company for the second quarter was $68.3 million, or $0.68 per share, compared with $30.4 million, or $0.29 per share last year.

The company's income from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2013 was also aided by a lower effective tax rate as compared with the average quarter of 2012, due primarily to favorable discrete tax items. In addition, the second quarter of 2013 included a $2.2 million after-tax benefit from the partial reversal of mark-to-market currency losses that had been reported in the first quarter of 2013.

Income from continuing operations in both quarterly periods was impacted by net asbestos-related gains and provisions, as detailed in an attached table. Excluding such items from both quarterly periods, adjusted income from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2013 was $54.6 million, or $0.54 per share, compared with $33.7 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.34 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Operating revenues for the quarter slip to $863.41 million from $936.46 million in the prior year quarter. Fourteen analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $881.96 million for the quarter.

The company raising its full-year 2013 earnings guidance. The company now expect its full-year 2013 adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations to be moderately above $1.54, due in part to the company's strong performance in the second quarter of 2013. The company's previous guidance was that 2013 results were expected to be flat to moderately below $1.54. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $1.40 per share for fiscal 2013.

In commenting on the company's Global E&C Group, Kent Masters, Chief Executive Officer of the company, said, "We continue to expect full-year scope revenues in 2013 to be up materially as compared with 2012, and we expect the full-year 2013 EBITDA margin on scope revenues in this business to be in the range of 10% to 12%. We now expect EBITDA to be more favorable than previously forecasted and that the EBITDA margin in 2013 could be near or above the high end of the full-year range."