Charlotte-based energy company Babcock & Wilcox missed its earnings projections by about $43 million in the first quarter of the year. It’s $662 million in earnings were about 18 percent less than the same time last year. The biggest drop-off in revenue came in its power generation division, where earnings dropped by nearly $150 million.
The company has suffered a couple of high-profile setbacks over the past year. They include the loss of a long-time federal nuclear weapons contract. And, the U.S. Department of Energy chose the company for its first investment into a new type of smaller nuclear reactor in 2012. But, development has slowed and the company announced it will lay off 211 people at its test site in Lynchburg, Va.