Lockheed and L-3 top estimates but outlooks vary
Defense contractors Lockheed Martin Corp and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc beat Wall Street profit estimates on Tuesday on better revenue and margins but offered differing full-year outlooks.
Lockheed, the industry leader, said share repurchases and strength in government satellite programs would boost full-year profit, while L-3 cut its 2010 earnings view, citing the loss of a logistics contract.
Shares of Lockheed were up 1 percent in morning trading, while L-3 drooped 1.7 percent.
J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Nadol said Lockheed got upside from its space systems margins but noted that L-3 revenue disappointed in a note to clients.
At Lockheed, second-quarter net earnings rose to $825 million, or $2.22 a share, from $734 million, or $1.88 a share, a year earlier.
Profit from continuing operations came to $1.96 a share for Lockheed. Analysts on average expected $1.78 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
In recent months, Lockheed has announced a number of moves in a bid to cut costs and improve operations, including offering voluntary buyout packages to certain employees and plans to sell two business units.
Most of these are activities that are going to set us up to be more competitive going forward, said Bruce Tanner, Lockheed chief financial officer. There wasn't a large impact in the (second) quarter. from those moves.
Lockheed said it now expected a profit of $7.15 to $7.35 a share from continuing operations for this year, compared with a prior forecast of $7 to $7.20 a share.
L-3, a maker of explosive-detection devices and airport security scanners, said quarterly net income was $227 million, or $1.95 a diluted share, compared with $223 million, or $1.90 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, L-3 profit was $2.04 a share, compared with $1.93 expected by analysts.
The company said it now expects earnings of $8.05 to $8.25 for this year, compared with an April forecast calling for a profit of $8.13 to $8.33 a share.
L-3 said it also expects an agreement with the U.S. Air Force that will allow a logistics unit to resume receiving federal contracts.
Shares of Lockheed were up 1 percent to $75.64 in morning trading, while L-3 was off 1.7 percent to $75.34.
(Reporting by Karen Jacobs, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
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