Jacobs Reports 6.5% Revenue Growth in 2020 + Announces Acquisition of PA Consulting

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. recently announced its financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Oct. 2, 2020.

Q4 2020 Financial Highlights:

• Revenue of $3.5 billion grew 3.7% year-over-year; net revenue up 2% pro forma
• EPS from continuing operations of $0.53, includes impact from Focus 2023 initiative
• Adjusted EPS from continuing operations of $1.63, including $0.24 in discrete tax benefits
• Backlog increased $1.2 billion to $23.8 billion, up 6% year over year and up 3% on a pro forma basis
• Cash flow from operations of $432 million and free cash flow of $403 million, driven by strong DSO performance

Fiscal Year 2020 Highlights:

• Revenue growth of 6.5% and pro forma net revenue growth of 2.5%
• Net earnings from continuing operations of $354 million and adjusted EBITDA growth of 7% to $1.05 billion
• FY20 EPS of $2.67 up 28% and adjusted EPS of $5.48, up 9% year-over-year
• Cash flow from operations of $807 million and free cash flow of $689 million, representing strong cash conversion

“Our strong FY20 results and solid FY21 outlook demonstrate the mission-critical nature of our solutions, and when combined with the diversity of our end markets, enables us to thrive in varying economic environments. The pandemic has served as a catalyst for us to materially accelerate our digital vision and quickly pivot to an effective virtual workforce.” Jacobs’ Chair and Chief Executive Officer Steve Demetriou said. “At Jacobs, our mindset of continuously challenging today to reinvent tomorrow has enabled us to capitalize on enhanced technologies, positioning us for sustainable, long-term growth.”

Jacobs’ President and Chief Financial Officer Kevin Berryman added, “Our focus on delivering innovative and technology-enabled solutions for a more connected, sustainable world is even more critical today than any time in our company’s history. During fiscal 2020 we grew revenue and profits year-over-year, generated $689 million in free cash flow and are positioned for operating profit growth and strong cash flow generation in fiscal 2021. The next phase of our growth will be propelled by Jacobs’ Focus 2023 initiative—further accelerating our global integrated delivery of technology-enabled solutions.”

Get a full breakdown of the group’s Q4 2020 and FY 2020 numbers here. 

The engineering group also announced that it had formed a strategic partnership with PA Consulting in which Jacobs will acquire a 65% stake in PA. The investment places an enterprise value of PA at £1.825 billion ($2.4 billion). The remaining 35% stake will be held by PA employees, following the exit of existing majority stakeholder, The Carlyle Group. 

“We are on the cusp of the next digital revolution as advances across 5G-driven compute power, robotics, autonomous technology, machine learning automation and geospatial technology converge to provide solutions to many of the world’s most complex challenges, including disruption to traditional business models,” said Demetriou. “Our partnership with PA forms a unique offering in the market that combines strategic front-end consulting and deep domain knowledge across key sectors with next generation science and technology expertise. Over the last several years we have transformed Jacobs to a leading technology enabled solutions provider built on a foundation of strong core values with an inclusive and diverse culture. This strategic partnership is an intentional move in accelerating our strategy to lead the market as a company like no other.”

PA has delivered strong growth over the last 5 years, resulting in EBITDA more than doubling over the period and achieving compound annual revenue growth of 12% since 2016.