Sector Snap: Construction Rebounds

Layne, based in Mission Woods, Kan., said its fourth-quarter earnings grew 44 percent to $9.6 million, or 50 cents per share, from $6.7 million, or 42 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 16 percent to $223.6 million.

According to a poll by Thomson Financial, analysts were expecting a profit of just 37 cents per share on revenue of $214.5 million, on average.

Shares of Layne soared on the news, gaining $7.13, or 19.8 percent, to $43.15 at midday Tuesday.

Elsewhere in the sector, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., based in Pasadena, Calif., added 23 cents to $79.89 after saying Tuesday that it won a contract to provide engineering and procurement services for Nova Chemicals Corp. in Canada.

Other gainers included Tulsa, Okla.-based construction services provider Matrix Service Co., which jumped 66 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $19.89.

Perini Corp., a contractor based in Framingham, Mass., rose 24 cents to $40.34. Irving, Tex.-based engineering firm Fluor Corp. climbed $1.59 to $152.52.

Vulcan Materials Co., a construction materials firm based in Birmingham, Ala., lost 47 cents to $69.68.

The gains across most of the sector came in spite of downbeat news from Alcoa Inc., the world's third-largest aluminum maker, which said Monday that profits plunged 50 percent in the first quarter. The report disappointed Wall Street and sent broader markets lower.