Fourth-quarter net profit declined to $117 million, or 65 cents per share, from $149 million, or 82 cents per share, in the same quarter a year before, Fluor said on Wednesday. Revenue fell four percent to $5.27 billion.

The company took a $180 million fourth-quarter charge related to rising costs for its Greater Gabbard wind project off the coast of Britain, which comes on top of a $163 million charge taken in the third quarter.

“While we experienced substantial challenges on the Greater Gabbard project during 2010, the company is well positioned for growth in 2011 and beyond as our markets and the global economy continue to strengthen,” chief executive David Seaton said.

Fluor’s backlog of contracts grew 6 percent in the quarter. The company had said last month it booked $3.5 billion into backlog for a contract for Santos Ltd’s Gladstone liquefied natural gas project in Australia.

Seaton, a 26-year Fluor veteran who became chief operating officer about a year ago, took over as CEO from Alan Boeckmann this month, while Boeckmann became non-executive chairman. Seaton’s background in energy is seen by analysts as important as that becomes a more profitable part of Fluor’s business.

Fluor said late on Tuesday that Exxon Mobil had awarded it with an early works program for the West Qurna field near Basra, Iraq, for an undisclosed contract value.

Backlog increased to $34.9 billion at the end of December from $33 billion three months earlier, and the Irving, Texas-based company still expects earnings per share of $3.00 to $3.40 in 2011, while analysts have been looking for $3.31.

The relatively muted outlook for underlying profit growth this year, despite the influx of new work, reflects the growing amount of lower-margin mining project work Fluor is now doing.

The fourth quarter also included a $28 million charge for a gas-fired power plant, and a $152 million tax benefit, of which a significant part was due to the Greater Gabbard loss.