Jacobs Engineering Group Reports 1Q Profit Rise

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Shares of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. fell Tuesday, a day after the engineering and construction company said its second-quarter profit rose 10 percent as it cut its 2009 earnings guidance below Wall Street expectations.

Net income of $109.3 million, or 88 cents per share, compared with $99.3 million, or 80 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue for the period ended March 31 was $2.98 billion, up 12 percent from $2.66 billion in the same quarter last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 88 cents per share on revenue of $3.1 billion.

Craig L. Martin, president and chief executive, said he was disappointed that the most recent results fell short of the previous quarter, when Jacobs Engineering Group reported earnings of $116.4 million, or 94 cents, per share.

"We have produced positive earnings growth on a quarter-over-quarter basis for the last 15 straight quarters, so we are disappointed to report earnings below that of last quarter," he said.