URS Corp., an engineering and construction services company, said Tuesday that its profit fell 25 percent in the fourth quarter as revenue fell by the double-digits.
The company earned $33.8 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three months that ended Jan. 1. That is down from the $45.2 million, or 54 cents per share, that it earned a year earlier.
Adjusted profit of 65 cents per share, which excludes a write-down for the discontinuation of a trade name, beat a 55 cent per share prediction of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue fell 22 percent in the quarter to $2.11 billion from $2.71 billion, short of the $2.35 billion analysts had expected. All three of the company' segments — infrastructure and environment, federal services, and energy and construction — posted lower revenue.
URS's 2010 profit forecast was for earnings in a range of $3.35 to $3.45 per share, higher than the $3.25 forecast from analysts.
For the entire year, URS's profit rose 22 percent to $269.1 million, or $3.29 per share, from $219.8 million, or $2.59 per share, the year before. Yearly revenue fell 8 percent to $9.25 billion from $10.09 billion.
The company<s backlog at Jan. 1 rose slightly to $17.3 billion from a year earlier.
URS shares rose 74 cents to $48.40 in after-hours trading Tuesday after closing the regular session up 87 cents at $47.66.