By Calvin Biesecker
Lockheed Martin [LMT] yesterday reported a strong increase in its second quarter net income due to the planned divestiture of its Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE) civil support business while sales grew slightly.
Net income increased 12 percent to $325 million, $2.22 earnings per share (EPS), from $734 million ($1.88 EPS), from a year ago. The earnings include a $96 million tax benefit due to the recognition of a deferred tax asset related to PAE when the decision was made last month to sell the business.
Excluding the benefit from PAE, which has been classified as discontinued operations, earnings from continuing operations dipped less than a percent to $727 million ($1.96 EPS) from $731 million ($1.87 EPS) a year ago, handily topping consensus estimates by 18 cents EPS. Earnings were aided by robust share repurchase activity in the quarter, which reduced the number of shares outstanding versus a year ago, and a lower tax rate.
Interest in PAE as the Enterprise Integration Group, which is being divested to avoid conflicts of interest with other businessess within Lockheed Martin on federal work, is at a “good level,” Bob Stevens, the company’s chairman and CEO, said on yesterday’s earnings call. The company expects both businesses to be sold by the end of 2010.
Operating profits increased at three of the company’s four operating groups, led by Space Systems and followed by Information Systems and Global Services (IS&GS) and Electronic Systems respectively. Space Systems benefited from higher volume in its Orion crew exploration vehicle, higher volume and improved performance on government satellite programs, and improved performance on strategic missile programs.
A year ago the IS&GS segment saw its profits suffer due to execution issues on two programs (Defense Daily, July 22, 2009). Those issues are behind it now and profits in the second quarter increased modestly on work on intelligence programs and higher sales in the Civil line of business.
Lockheed Martin’s sales in the quarter increased 3 percent to $11.4 billion from $11.1 billion as each of the company’s four operating segments posted gains, led by IS&GS and Electronics Systems. IS&GS sales were up in the Civil business, which stemmed from its contracts for the U.S. Census and the Energy Department’s Hanford nuclear site that is currently being remediated.
Electronic Systems posted sales gains in its readiness and stability operations, simulation and training programs, air defense and certain tactical missile programs.
The share buybacks in the quarter, coupled with an increase in projected operating profits from Space Systems due to improved performance, led the company to boost its earnings guidance for the year from continuing operations by 15 cents EPS, with the new target range set between $7.15 and $7.35 EPS. On the other hand, the outlook for sales was cut by $750 million relating to PAE discontinued operations.
The earnings guidance excludes any impact from the company’s voluntary executive separation program announced earlier this month to shed management layers (Defense Daily, July 7). Acceptance offers for the program are due by Sept. 7 and the company expects to be able to quantify the impact during its third quarter earnings call in October.
The executive separation program is being driven to improve the lines of communication inside and outside Lockheed Martin as well as to answer the Pentagon’s call for the defense industry to root out unnecessary costs. Stevens expects the ongoing “velocity of events” as well as the “volatility” surrounding the defense market and industry to continue beyond the near-term. Firms will need to be more agile to respond, he added.
The guidance also excludes a potential extension by Congress of the Research and Development tax credit that expired at the end of 2009. Last year the credit provided an 11 cents EPS benefit to Lockheed Martin’s earnings.
Backlog at the end of the quarter was $72.8 billion, down from $77.5 billion at the end of 2009.