Military contractor and construction and engineering firm KBR Inc. said Friday that first-quarter profit more than doubled, helped by a gain from an arbitration award.
The Houston-based former subsidiary of Halliburton Co. said quarterly earnings rose to $98 million, or 58 cents per share, from $28 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 24.3 percent to $2.52 billion from $2.03 billion, in the same period last year.
Wall Street expected a profit of 34 cents per share on $2.30 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Financial.
KBR recorded a $51 million gain from a favorable arbitration award, but profits were weighed down by a $12 million charge related to a U.S. Embassy project in Macedonia.
The company said income at its government and infrastructure division was $80 million in the quarter, up from $70 million a year ago. Results benefited from KBR's military contract work in Iraq.
Its services arm reported income of $13 million, up from $10 million a year ago, lifted in part by several North American construction projects and work with service and maintenance vessels in the Gulf of Mexico.
"I'm pleased with this quarter's operating results, in terms of profitability, project execution and growth over the last year," KBR chairman and chief executive Bill Utt said in a statement.
But Utt said he was disappointed in further charges related to the embassy project in Macedonia.
"Our teams are continuing to work hard to get that project back on track and completed," he said.
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