MasTec revenue, earnings take hit

MasTec’s revenue and earnings took a big hit in the fourth quarter and for the year. But the contraction was not as large as investors in the Coral Gables-based infrastructure construction company were expecting and its shares rose.

In the fourth quarter, revenue was $1.03 billion, down 16.6 percent from the $1.23 billion in revenues in the fourth quarter a year before, but better than the 22.5 percent drop analysts were expecting. Adjusted net income from continuing operations was $16.8 million, down from $32.4 million the year before. Earnings per share were 21 cents down from 38 cents but 9 cents per share better than analyst expectations.

For the year, revenue was $4.2 billion, an 8.7 percent decrease compared with $4.6 billion for the prior year. Adjusted net income was $51.4 million, compared to $135.0 million for the prior year, or 64 cents per share compared to $1.57 the year before. MasTec also reported record levels of cash flow from operating activities at $367 million, a 14 percent increase compared to $323 million for the prior year.

In addition, the company announced that its board of directors has authorized up to $100 million in repurchases of the company’s shares.

The infrastructure giant released its earnings after close of trading Thursday. The stock surged in after-hours trading; Friday, the stock closed up almost 12 percent, at $16.23 per share.

MasTec CEO Jose Mas said, “2015 was a difficult year. However, we enter 2016 with a growing number of opportunities across our segments and record backlog,” referring to its 18-month backlog at $5.7 billion, a 31 percent increase over a year ago.

The company currently estimates 2016 revenue of approximately $4.6 to $4.8 billion. For the first quarter of 2016, MasTec expects revenue of about $950 million.

MasTec operates primarily in North America and caters to a range of industries. Its services include engineering, building, installation, maintenance and upgrade of energy, utility and communications infrastructure as well as industrial infrastructure.

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 12:53 PM with the headline "MasTec revenue, earnings take hit."