Jacobs Boosts Earnings in First-Quarter 2013, Expects Further Growth from Government, Petroleum Projects

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Jacobs Engineering Group Incorporated (NYSE:JEC) (Pasadena, California), a leading worldwide provider of technical and construction services, reported strong improvement in earnings and backlog for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 as the company continued to find numerous profitable projects. Net earnings were reported to be $99.01 million, a 10.37% increase from fiscal first-quarter 2012.

Total revenues stood at $2.78 billion, a 4.86% increase from the same period in 2012. Projects from national governments and within the Refining Industry each made up 21% of the company's business, the largest shares for any market. The company's backlog totaled $16.19 billion, an 11.79% increase. The book-to-bill ratio stood at 1.15; a ratio of more than 1 indicates a company has a demand for orders that exceeds what it can immediately supply.

Capital expenditures in the quarter were reported to be $25.17 million, a 25.23% increase from fourth-quarter 2012.

Industrial Info is tracking more than $36 billion in projects involving Jacobs, including the planned, $1 billion construction of a steel pipe mill for Tianjin Pipe Group Company Limited in Gregory, Texas. Jacobs will provide project management consulting services. The project involves building a 550,000-ton-per-year Oil Country Tubular Goods seamless pipe mill using the best available emissions control technology. Phase I will consist of buildings, infrastructure, utilities, equipment pads, equipment placement and setup. Phase II will consist of additional equipment setting, processing, testing and startup.

"Our position on things like multiple-award task order contracts (MATOCs) has proven to be an advantage," said Craig L. Martin, the president and chief executive officer of Jacobs, in a conference call when discussing contracts awarded by national governments. "We've been saying for some time now that our ability to win MATOCs and take market share in what were single-award contracts in the past is a strength, and I think we're demonstrating that steadily."

Both segments saw steady increases in revenue and backlog:

• The Technical Professional Services segment reported $1.61 billion in revenue, a 4.8% increase from fiscal first-quarter 2012. The segment's backlog was $10.41 billion, a 9.21% increase.
• The Field Services segment reported $1.15 billion in revenue, a 4.94% increase from the same period in 2012. The segment's backlog was $5.78 billion, a 16.76% increase.

Jacobs has announced several new contracts since the beginning of 2013. The company received a contract worth as much as $1.37 billion to provide testing and operational support services for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida. Jacobs also was awarded a contract worth up to $15.7 million from the Texas Department of Transportation to manage environmental and engineering services for the addition of tolled managed lanes to a highway in Fort Worth, Texas. Southern California Gas Company, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) (San Diego, California), picked Jacobs to provide project management services for a program to enhance pipeline safety; the value of the five-year contract, which has a provision for five one-year extensions, was not disclosed.

"The refining business continues to be better for us," Martin said about another promising market. "We're beginning to see solid margins on our client side, and that's driving investments. There's been an uptick in spending on environmental and regulatory projects. There's a lot of traditional small and mid-cap work just to keep these refineries running. There's some minor capacity additions."

"And then, of course, there's slight changes that are also driving additional projects, both in terms of heavy sour crude side of it, but now we also have a light sweet crude aspect that changes the configuration again. So we think there's going to be a lot of activity, particularly in the northern refineries, like the Bakken, that will drive business for Jacobs as we go forward."

For more information, visit Industrial Info's North American Industrial Manufacturing Project Database.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.