Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) has reported a 30.15 percent jump in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 30, 2016. The company has earned $60.54 million, or $0.50 a share in the quarter, compared with $46.51 million, or $0.38 a share for the same period last year. On the other hand, adjusted net income for the quarter stood at $83.34 million, or $0.68 a share compared with $94.65 million or $0.78 a share, a year ago.
Revenue during the quarter dropped 10.41 percent to $2,551.60 million from $2,847.93 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 97 basis points over the previous year period to 16.43 percent. Total expenses were 96.53 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 97.91 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 139 basis points in operating margin to 3.47 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $88.63 million, compared with $59.45 million in the previous year period.
Commenting on the results for the first quarter 2017, Steve Demetriou, Jacobs chairman and chief executive officer said, "This quarter marked our transition from nearly two years of significant cost restructuring and organizational realignment to a priority focus on profitable top-line growth. Although revenue continued to be pressured by prior year market challenges, we are pleased with the strong sales bookings during the quarter and the robust pipeline of opportunities that fit our skill sets and strategy. The continuing growth in our higher margin professional services backlog, the largest reported in 21 months, demonstrates the benefits of our disciplined approach on leveraging synergies across the company to drive more profitable work. Additionally, this success in winning front end engineering opportunities positions us well for full service delivery in subsequent phases of the projects."
Working capital declines
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has witnessed a decline in the working capital over the last year. It stood at $1,173.73 million as at Dec. 30, 2016, down 11.57 percent or $153.59 million from $1,327.32 million on Jan. 01, 2016. Current ratio was at 1.67 as on Dec. 30, 2016, down from 1.74 on Jan. 01, 2016.
Days sales outstanding went up to 83 days for the quarter compared with 79 days for the same period last year.
At the same time, days payable outstanding went up to 23 days for the quarter from 19 for the same period last year.
Debt comes down significantly
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has recorded a decline in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $389.90 million as on Dec. 30, 2016, down 37.59 percent or $234.83 million from $624.73 million on Jan. 01, 2016. Total debt was 5.48 percent of total assets as on Dec. 30, 2016, compared with 8.20 percent on Jan. 01, 2016. Debt to equity ratio was at 0.09 as on Dec. 30, 2016, down from 0.14 as on Jan. 01, 2016. Interest coverage ratio improved to 25.19 for the quarter from 16.78 for the same period last year.
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