Lockheed raises full-year outlook as revenues rocket for weapons maker

Net income rose to $1.16bn in the second-quarter ended June 24 from $955 million a year earlier

FILE PHOTO: A Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon flies on the second day of the Farnborough International Airshow in south England July 15, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
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Lockheed Martin's F-35 jet demand once again helped the company beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit on Tuesday as the weapons maker raised its forecast for the rest of the year.

The Pentagon's top weapons supplier raised its 2018 net sales forecast to a range of $51.6 billion to $53.1bn from a range of $50.35bn to $51.85bn, sending shares up 2.7 per cent to $327 in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Full-year profit is now expected to be between $16.75 to $17.05 per share, compared with its earlier estimate of between $15.80 and $16.10 per share.

Revenue from the company's missiles and fire control business, which makes PAC-3 missiles, rose 16.9 per cent to $2.09bn. The PAC-3 is the interceptor in the Patriot missile system. In late March, Poland signed its largest arms procurement deal in its history, a Patriot missile defence system for $4.75bn.

The company's aeronautics business, which makes the stealthy F-35 fighter jet, posted a 8.1 per cent rise in revenue to $5.32bn.

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The company's net income rose to $1.16bn, or $4.05 per share, in the second-quarter ended June 24 from $955 million, or $3.28 per share, a year earlier.

Net sales rose 6.6 per cent to $13.4bn.

Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings of $3.92 per shares and revenue of $12.74bn, according to Thomson Reuters.

The quarterly results included a charge of $96m related to severance and restructuring activities, which reduced net income by $76m, or $0.26 per share.

"Although Lockheed beating consensus for the quarter is hardly a novel experience, to do this despite the 26 cents of restructuring is an impressive performance," analyst Robert Stallard of Vertical Research said in a note on Tuesday.

Up to Monday's close, Lockheed's shares had risen 9.7 per cent in the past 12 months, compared with a 13.6 per cent rise in the S&P 500 index.