BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2001--The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE:SGR) ("Shaw" or "the Company") today announced a 68% increase in earnings before an extraordinary item to $11.8 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, for the three months ended February 28, 2001. This compares to earnings of $7.0 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, for the three months ended February 29, 2000. Sales increased 97% for the second quarter of fiscal 2001 reaching $340.3 million, compared to $173.0 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2000.

Shaw's backlog totaled $3.1 billion at February 28, 2001 with approximately 39%, or $1.2 billion, to be worked off during the next 12 months. Driven by strength in the domestic power market, this represents a 260% increase over the $873 million backlog reported at February 29, 2000, and a 52% increase over Shaw's backlog at November 30, 2000, of $2.1 billion.

"With a backlog exceeding $3 billion and consistent financial results, we are extremely pleased with our current position," stated J. M. Bernhard, Jr., Shaw's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In the tremendously robust market that we are experiencing today, we have the utmost confidence in the success of our business model, and the value that it brings to all of our stakeholders."

"Our current focus," Bernhard continued, "is to increase capacity in order to successfully meet current demand, and we are actively pursuing opportunities to bring new talent to our team."

For the six months ended February 28, 2001, the Company reported an increase in earnings before an extraordinary item to $24.0 million, or $0.58 per diluted share. This compares to earnings before a change in accounting principle of $12.8 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the six months ended February 29, 2000. Sales for the six months ended February 28, 2001 increased 134% to $759.0 million, compared to $323.8 million in sales for the six months ended February 29, 2000.

The Shaw Group Inc. is the world's only vertically-integrated provider of complete piping systems and comprehensive engineering, procurement and construction services to the power generation industry. Shaw is the largest supplier of fabricated piping systems in the United States and a leading supplier worldwide, having installed piping systems in power plants with an aggregate generation capacity in excess of 200,000 megawatts. While the majority of Shaw's backlog is attributable to the power generation industry, the Company also does work in the process industries, including petrochemical, chemical and refining, and the environmental and infrastructure sector. The Company currently has offices and operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific; and has more than 13,000 employees. For additional information on The Shaw Group, please visit the Company's web site at www.shawgrp.com.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts (including without limitation statements to the effect that The Shaw Group Inc. (the "Company" or "Shaw") or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," or other similar expressions) are forward-looking statements based on the Company's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by the Company. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the Company) and assumptions and are subject to change based upon various factors, including but not limited to the following risks and uncertainties: changes in the demand for and market acceptance of the Company's products and services; changes in general economic conditions, and, specifically, changes in the rate of economic growth in the United States and other major international economies; the presence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive products, services and pricing; the cyclical nature of the individual markets in which the Company's customers operate; changes in investment by the energy, power and environmental industries; the availability of qualified engineers and other professional staff needed to execute contracts; the uncertain timing of awards and contracts; cost overruns on fixed, maximum or unit priced contracts; changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies worldwide; currency fluctuations; the effect of the Company's policies, including but not limited to the amount and rate of growth of Company expenses; the continued availability to the Company of adequate funding sources; delays or difficulties in the production, delivery or installation of products and the provision of services; the ability of the Company to successfully integrate the operations of Stone & Webster, Incorporated; the protection and validity of patents and other intellectual property; and various legal, regulatory and litigation risks. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the Company's assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For a more detailed discussion of some of the foregoing risks and uncertainties, see the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

                          The Shaw Group Inc.
                   Consolidated Statements of Income
               (In thousands, except per share amounts)
                              Three Months Ended     Six Months Ended
                               February 28 & 29,     February 28 & 29,
                              ------------------     ----------------
                               2001       2000       2001       2000
                               ----       ----       ----       ----
Income:
   Sales                    $ 340,283  $ 172,963  $ 759,040  $ 323,771
   Cost of sales              286,765    144,676    641,454    269,406
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
     Gross profit              53,518     28,287    117,586     54,365
General and administrative
 expenses                      33,491     17,248     71,529     33,160
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
   Operating income            20,027     11,039     46,057     21,205
Interest expense               (1,169)    (1,475)    (7,801)    (3,443)
Other income, net                 578        200      1,228        373
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
                                 (591)    (1,275)    (6,573)    (3,070)
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Income before income taxes     19,436      9,764     39,484     18,135
Provision for income taxes      7,518      3,135     15,319      5,922
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Income before earnings
 (losses) from
 unconsolidated entities       11,918      6,629     24,165     12,213
Earnings (losses)
 from unconsolidated
 entities (net of taxes)          (98)       395       (184)       631
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Income before extraordinary
 item and cumulative effect
 of change in accounting
 principle                     11,820      7,024     23,981     12,844
Extraordinary item for
 early extinguishment
 of debt, net of taxes           (203)      --         (203)      --
Cumulative effect on
 prior years of change
 in accounting for start-up
 costs, net of taxes             --         --         --         (320)
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Net Income                  $  11,617  $   7,024  $  23,778  $  12,524
                            =========  =========  =========  =========
Basic income per common 
 share:
   Number of shares            40,615     30,466     39,287     27,744
   Income before
    extraordinary item
    and cumulative effect
    of change in accounting
    principle               $    0.29  $    0.23  $    0.61  $    0.46
   Extraordinary item            --         --         --         --
   Cumulative effect of
    change in accounting
    principle                    --         --         --        (0.01)
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
   Net income per common 
    share                   $    0.29  $    0.23  $    0.61  $    0.45
                            =========  =========  =========  =========
Diluted income per common 
 share:
   Number of shares            42,186     31,980     41,056     29,234
   Income before extraordinary
    item and cumulative effect
    of change in accounting
    principle               $    0.28  $    0.22  $    0.58  $    0.44
   Extraordinary item            --         --         --         --
   Cumulative effect of
    change in accounting
    principle                    --         --         --        (0.01)
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
   Net income per common 
    share                   $    0.28  $    0.22  $    0.58  $    0.43
                            =========  =========  =========  =========
              SALES AND BACKLOG BY INDUSTRY AND GEOGRAPHY
                           Sales by Industry
               (Second Quarter Ended February 28, 2001)
Power Generation                           $  203.8 million       60 %
Process Industries                         $   66.7 million       20 %
Environmental & Infrastructure             $   42.7 million       12 %
Other Industries                           $   27.1 million        8 %
                                              -------------      -----
Total                                      $  340.3 million      100 %
                          Sales by Geography
               (Second Quarter Ended February 28, 2001)
United States                              $  288.4 million       85 %
Asia/Pacific Rim                           $   22.8 million        7 %
Europe                                     $   19.0 million        5 %
Other                                      $    7.3 million        2 %
South America                              $    2.6 million        1 %
Middle East                                $    0.2 million        0 %
                                              -------------      -----
Total                                      $  340.3 million      100 %
                          Backlog by Industry
                        (At February 28, 2001)
Power Generation                           $2,234.9 million       71 %
Process Industries                         $  676.8 million       22 %
Environmental & Infrastructure             $  155.3 million        5 %
Other Industries                           $   76.6 million        2 %
                                            ---------------      -----
Total                                      $3,143.6 million      100 %
                         Backlog by Geography
                        (At February 28, 2001)
Domestic                                   $2,315.8 million       74 %
International                              $  827.8 million       26 %
                                            ---------------      -----
Total                                      $3,143.6 million      100 %

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