By Calvin Biesecker
Lockheed Martin [LMT] yesterday posted slightly lower net income in its first quarter due to a loss to two former business units, although earnings from continuing operations were up and beat consensus estimates.
Net income was down a half-percent to $530 million, $1.50 earnings per share (EPS), from $533 million ($1.41 EPS), due to an $18 million (5 cents EPS) loss from discontinued operations. A year ago, discontinued operations added $14 million (3 cents EPS) to the bottom line.
Excluding the results from the former business units, earnings from continuing operations rose 6 percent to $548 million ($1.55 EPS), topping analysts’ expectations by a nickel. Results improved despite $131 million in higher pension and other expenses. Free cash flow was a record $1.6 billion.
The improved operating earnings were driven by better sales and by a 10 percent increase at Electronic Systems on higher volume in air defense and fire control systems programs, and a 5 percent increase at Space Systems on higher operating profits in government satellites. Earnings per share also benefited from a lower share count.
As a result of a favorable resolution on federal taxes for previous years, Lockheed Martin expects to reduce its income tax expense in the second quarter. This led the company to boost its earnings guidance for the year by 25 cents to between $6.95 and $7.25.
The outlook for sales was unchanged at between $45.8 billion to $47.3 billion. Guidance for operating cash flow was raised about $100 million to $4.1 billion or above.
Sales in the quarter increased 3 percent to $10.6 billion from $10.3 billion, with gains in the Aeronautics and Electronic Systems segments more than offsetting declines at Information Systems & Global Solutions and Space Systems.
Backlog rose to $80 billion from $78.4 billion at the end of 2010, driven mainly by additional work on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to keep that program’s development in step with recommendations of the Technical Baseline Review last year. The company said that backlog by year end would be around $78.4 billion.
Bob Stevens, Lockheed Martin’s chairman and CEO, said that flight-testing of the F-35 in the quarter was ahead of plan, with 199 flights completed versus 142 planned. He said the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the plane had 101 flights versus 62 planned, with 61 vertical landings.
Stevens also said that software development on the F-35 continues to track with the revised baseline.
Overall, Stevens said that “test point productivity” is ahead of plan. The first two production aircraft are slated to be delivered to the Air Force within the next two weeks, he added.
Despite the progress made under the revise program baseline, Lockheed Martin earned only $7 million of $35 million in available award fees last year. This year the company has $52.5 million in available award fees split evenly among five milestones critical in demonstrating “forward progress on the program,” Stevens said.
The five key program milestones in 2011 are completion of all static structural tests, completion of the aircraft carrier version suitability testing, release of the Block 2 software update to the flight-test program, participation of the F-35B STOVL variant in sea trials, and release of the Block 1 training update to the Eglin AFB training facility, Stevens said. Each of these is “achievable,” he said.
Stevens expects future F-35 award fees to also be allocated against achieving critical program milestones.
Regarding the international security environment, Stevens said that recent and ongoing events are changing some near-term priorities for certain countries. For example, orders for 18 F-16 fighter aircraft for Iraq and 12 C-130J airlifters for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been delayed, he said. The UAE, instead, is reemphasizing and elevating the need for an integrated air defense system due to the growing offensive missile threat in that region, he added. Stevens expects the UAE’s need for the C-130Js to be “phased out.”
Stevens also said that while Iraq has reallocated the F-16 funds for domestic security purposes, he expects discussions about the aircraft to resume later this year with a potential order next year. Longer term, he believes that Iraq will need even more tactical aircraft.
Bookings in the quarter were $12.2 billion.