spacetoday.net: Lockheed reports second quarter profit

Posted: Tue, Jul 27, 2004, 2:11 PM ET (1811 GMT)

Lockheed Martin's space division reported Tuesday a profit in its fiscal second quarter because of improved performance in its satellite and launch vehicle programs. The company's Space Systems division reported an operating profit of $129 million on $1.55 billion in net sales in the quarter, compared to an operating profit of $101 million on $1.54 billion in net sales for the same quarter of 2003. The company said that the delivery of a commercial satellite, along with ballistic missiles for the military, offset declines in volume of launch services as the Titan vehicle program winds down. The increase in operating profit came from a combination of the satellite delivery and improved performance on commercial satellite programs, along with increased profit from government launch vehicle programs. For the year to date the Space Systems division has an operating profit of $249 million on $3.125 billion in net sales. Lockheed Martin overall reported an operating profit of $544 million on $8.78 billion in net sales for the quarter.