Emcor Group 3Q profit falls, but beats views

posted: 27 DAYS 12 HOURS AGO

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NORWALK, Conn. -Emcor Group Inc. said Thursday that restructuring charges squeezed its profit in the third quarter as contract backlog and revenue declined.

The mechanical and electrical construction services provider earned $40 million, or 59 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That's down 18 percent from $48.6 million, or 72 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier.

Still, the results beat the 52 cents-per-share forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates normally exclude one-time items.

The latest results included restructuring charges of $90,000.

Revenue dropped 20 percent to $1.37 billion from $1.72 billion, which fell short of Wall Street's $1.4 billion estimate.

Contract backlog slipped to $3.39 billion from $4.42 billion on fewer contracts in the lodging, gaming and commercial sectors.

But Chairman and CEO Frank MacInnis said in a statement that the company's backlog decline has slowed, with results helped by strong bookings in the health care and institutional sectors.

Emcor raised its full-year earnings outlook to a range of $2.20 to $2.35 per share from a prior forecast of $2 to $2.20 per share. It anticipates 2009 revenue of $5.5 billion to $5.6 billion, compared with a previous guidance for revenue between $5.5 billion and $5.7 billion.

Analysts expect a profit of $2.17 per share on revenue of $5.6 billion for the year.

Shares of Emcor Group gained $2.18, or 9.8 percent, to $24.50 in afternoon trading. Over the past year, the stock has traded in a range of $11.17 to $26.38.

2009-10-29 13:07:33