Dive Brief:

• Multinational construction and engineering firm Fluor announced it ended 2020 with revenue of $15.7 billion, down 9% compared to the year before. Backlog also fell, from $32 billion in 2019 to $26 billion.
• New awards for the year were down from $12.6 billion to $9 billion, a decrease that the company attributed to pandemic-related impacts on clients and Fluor’s new focus on passing up risky projects in its push to pursue "higher-quality contracts." 
• In an earnings call last week, CEO David Constable said that 2021 will be “a bridging year” as the Texas-based company anticipates COVID-19 impacts abating. Its guidance for 2021 assumes increased opportunities for new awards in the second half of the year as post-pandemic capital spending improves.

Dive Insight:

Fluor dealt with several major issues in 2020, including a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the firm's past accounting and financial reporting that delayed the filing of its 2019 and 2020 financial statements and in May. The investigation is ongoing. 

It also pulled out of the Purple Line project in Maryland and CEO Carlos Hernandez retired at the end of the year, making Constable the firm's third chief executive in two years.

Constable said he is hopeful that 2021 will bring more federal infrastructure funding but that the company will be selective in the infrastructure projects it pursues. Earlier this year, Fluor announced an updated organizational and reporting structure that it said better aligns its business with identified growth markets and company strategy. 

"Each pursuit must have the right scope, the right client, the right location, the right contract terms, the right size and importantly, the right execution team and resources," the new CEO said. "Our goal is to deliver predictable earnings and not chase top line growth. This will be especially apparent in our infrastructure pursuits going forward." 

Fluor broke down its business segment numbers for 2020:

• The Energy & Chemicals segment reported a profit of $164 million in 2020 compared to a loss of $95 million in 2019. Ending backlog was $11 billion compared to $14.1 billion a year ago.
• The Mining & Industrial segment reported a profit of $122 million in 2020 compared to $159 million in 2019. Ending backlog was $4.0 billion compared to $5.4 billion a year ago.
• The Infrastructure & Power segment reported a profit of $13.7 million compared to a loss of $244 million in 2019. Ending backlog for the segment was $5.2 billion compared to $6.1 billion a year ago.
• The Government segment reported a profit of $88 million in 2020 compared to $200 million a year ago. Ending backlog was $2.8 billion compared to $3.6 billion a year ago.
• The Diversified Services segment reported a profit of $14 million in 2020, compared to $15 million a year ago. Ending backlog was $2.4 billion compared to $2.5 billion a year ago.