By B.C. Kessner
TEL AVIV, Israel—Elbit Systems [ESLT] on Wednesday reported its consolidated results for the third quarter ending Sept. 30 with the company’s president and CEO saying recent acquisitions helped generate record revenues, backlog and cash flow.
“We are pleased to report another strong quarter of growth, which was based on organic revenue growth of 19 percent and contribution from acquisitions, bringing our overall revenue growth to 38 percent over last year, Joseph Ackerman said.
Consolidated revenues for the third quarter of 2007 increased by 38 percent to $518.9 million, from $376.7 million in the third quarter of 2006, a record according to a company spokesperson here.
Elbit’s backlog of orders at quarter’s end reached $4.5 billion, another company high, up steadily and sharply from about $3.8 billion at the end of 2006.
The company’s operating cash flow generated during the first nine months of 2007 also reached a record $214.2 million, up 43 percent from the same period a year ago.
Ackerman said Elbit’s two recent acquisitions, Tadiran and Ferranti Technologies (Group) Limited, both of which were important steps in its strategy for accelerated growth, have already borne fruit. “We have already reaped some of the benefit from the synergies between our businesses,” he added.
The ongoing merger process relating to the company’s new subsidiary called Elbit Systems Land and C4I–Tadiran Ltd., which was announced last week, should further expand Elbit’s business opportunities and be instrumental to the Group’s continued and long-term success, Ackerman added.
Seventy-one percent of the backlog is for sales outside Israel, and about 50 percent of the backlog is scheduled for completion by the end of 2008. The majority of the balance is slated for 2009 and 2010.
Gross profit for the third quarter of 2007 increased by 46 percent to $140.2 million, or 27 percent of revenues, as compared with gross profit of $96.1 million, which was 25.5 percent of revenues in the third quarter of 2006.
Elbit’s net profit for the third quarter of 2007 was $26.4 million, or 5.1 percent of revenues compared with a net profit of $18.7 million and 5.0 percent of revenues in the third quarter of 2006. Earnings per diluted share for the third quarter of 2007 was 62 cents as compared with 45 cents for the third quarter last year.
The Board of Directors declared a dividend of 17 cents per share for the third quarter of 2007. The dividend’s record date is Nov. 27, 2007, and the dividend will be paid on Dec. 10, 2007, net of taxes and levies, at the rate of 16.29 percent.