Fluor Corp. is appealing a $358.9-million damage award by a St. Louis jury to 16 plaintiffs over health problems linked to a lead smelter it owned from 1981 and 1994 in southeast Missouri.
"We were very surprised by the verdict, planned to appeal immediately and believe it's probable that judgment will be overturned on appeal," Fluor CEO David T. Seaton said of the July 29 circuit court jury award during an August 4 earnings call. “The company does not believe that a loss will ultimately be incurred and therefore does not take any charge for this in the second quarter.”
Fluor stock (NYSE: FLR) was $57.39 a share on Aug. 26, down 24% from a 52-week high of $75.76 a share. The Irving, Texas, contractor recorded $20.8 billion in revenue last year. On Aug. 4, the company announced new contract awards of $9.7 billion and a backlog of $40.3 billion, both company records, in the second quarter that ended on June 30.