Fluor’s revenue slips 18% in Q3

The company said the dip in performance was largely due to a $653 million reversal linked to an unfavourable ruling on a completed energy project in Australia.

In August this year, Fluor acknowledged a decision in favour of Santos by the Supreme Court of Queensland regarding a legal dispute over the Gladstone LNG project in Queensland. The dispute has been ongoing since 2016 over Santos’ efforts to recover costs related to a reimbursable project completed by Fluor in 2015.

Meanwhile, Fluor recorded a net loss of $697 million, reflecting that charge and a $401m write-down on its investment in small modular nuclear reactor company NuScale Power. Fluor is currently in the process of selling off its remaining stake in the NuScale business. It received $605 million for 15 million shares converted in Q3 and expects to sell off its remaining 111 million shares by Q2 2026.

New project awards rose 21% to $3.3 billion, while backlog stood at $28.2 billion, down 10% from a year earlier.

Jim Bruer. Photo: Fluor Corporation

By division, Urban Solutions (which covers infrastructure, mining and life sciences) delivered a $61 million profit, slightly down on last year, as delays on one infrastructure project were partly offset by favourable negotiations with a designer on another. New awards for the quarter were $1.8 billion, compared to $828 million a year ago.

Energy Solutions, responsible for oil, gas and chemicals projects, reported a $533 million loss due to the Santos ruling, with revenue falling sharply to $262 million from $1.4 billion a year earlier. New awards totalled $222 million, compared to $1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2024, and backlog has fallen to $5.1 billion, compared to $8.8 billion a year ago.

And Mission Solutions, which provides services to the US government and defence sector, posted a $34 million profit on higher revenue of $761 million. New awards for the quarter improved to $1.3 billion, compared to $274 million in the third quarter of 2024. They included a six-year contract to extend Fluor’s presence a the Portsmouth project in Ohio. Enging backlog was $2.6 billion, compared to $3.1 billion a year ago.

Chief executive Jim Breuer said, “Despite continued short term uncertainty in some markets, we are well positioned with unmatched global engineering and construction expertise, disciplined execution, a predominantly reimbursable portfolio, and a clear capital allocation strategy. We remain confident in our ability to deliver significant value over time.”