Foster Wheeler Slips To Loss In Q4 - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Foster Wheeler AG (FWLT) said that its fourth-quarter of 2013 net loss attributable to the company was $37.17 million or $0.38 per share, compared to a net income of $6.30 million or $0.06 per share in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Loss from continuing operations attributable to the company for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $37.2 million or $0.38 per share, compared to income of $18.6 million, or $0.18 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Income/loss from continuing operations in both quarterly periods was impacted by net asbestos-related provisions. Excluding such items from both quarterly periods, the adjusted income from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2013 was $2.8 million, or $0.03 per share, compared with $41.3 million, or $0.39 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Three additional items had an unfavorable non-cash impact on adjusted income from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2013: a pretax impairment charge of $22.4 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, associated with a partially owned waste-to-energy facility in the company's Global Engineering and Construction Group; a pretax charge of $15.1 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, for a restructuring in the Global Power Group associated with an organizational realignment designed to drive further efficiencies and strengthen the Group's focus on environmental and industrial products; and a $10.7 million, or $0.11 per share, provision associated with a tax audit in a non-U.S. jurisdiction.

Excluding the impact of the these three items and asbestos, income from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2013 was $47.3 million, or $0.47 per share, compared with $44.8 million, or $0.42 per share, in the average quarter of 2012.

Operating revenues for the quarter were $851.07 million, up from $730.05 million in the prior year quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.41 per share and revenues of $853.55 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Foster Wheeler's Chief Executive Officer, Kent Masters, said, "We are encouraged by our backlog and booking data for the fourth quarter of 2013. Specifically, our Global Engineering and Construction Group reported a 26% increase in scope revenues as compared to the average quarter of 2012.......This backlog and booking data supports our view that the company's enhanced operating performance in 2014 will be driven by top-line growth in both of our business groups, led in particular by a sharp increase in scope revenues in the Global E&C Group. Nevertheless, the company's typical volatility in quarterly results will likely be evident in the first quarter of 2014, where we expect to see income well below run-rate levels."