Lockheed Martin Beats on Q2 Earnings, Raises 18' View

Pentagon's prime defense contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $4.31 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.89 by 10.8%.

Excluding one-time items, the company reported GAAP earnings of $4.05 per share, which came in 23.5% higher than the year-ago period's bottom-line figure of $3.28.

Operational Highlights

In the reported quarter, total revenues came in at $13.40 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.75 billion by 5.1%.

Moreover, the company's revenues increased 6.6% from $12.56 billion a year ago. Notably, all segments registered year-over-year growth in sales, except the Space Segment.

Backlog

Lockheed Martin ended the second quarter (on Jun 24, 2018) with $105 billion in backlog, up a mere 0.2% from $104.8 billion at the end of first-quarter 2018. Of this, the Aeronautics segment accounted for $36.64 billion, while Rotary and Mission Systems contributed $29.1 billion. Also, $20.1 billion came from Space Systems and $19.17 billion from Missiles and Fire Control segment.

Segmental Performance

Aeronautics: Sales increased 8.1% year over year to $5.32 billion, driven by higher net sales from the F-35 and F-22 programs.

Operating profit also advanced 0.9% year over year to $572 million, while operating margin contracted 80 basis points (bps) to 10.7%.

Missiles and Fire Control: Quarterly sales improved 16.9% year over year to $2.09 billion, due to increased volume on classified programs along with air and missile defense programs.

Operating profit increased 10.3% year over year to $279 million and operating margin contracted 80 bps to 13.4%.

Rotary and Mission Systems: Quarterly sales of $3.57 billion increased 4.45% from the prior-year quarter, due to higher sales for integrated warfare systems and sensors (IWSS) programs as well as C4ISR programs.

Operating profit improved 25.8% year over year to $341 million, while operating margin expanded 170 bps to 9.6%.

Space Systems: Sales dropped 0.7% year over year to about $0.24 billion in the second quarter, driven by lower net sales for government satellite programs.

Operating profit increased 7% to $274 million, while operating margin expanded 80 bps to 11.3% in the reported quarter.

Lockheed Martin Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Lockheed Martin Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Lockheed Martin Corporation Quote

Financial Condition

Lockheed Martin’s cash and cash equivalents were $1.18 billion as of Jun 24, 2018 compared with $2.39 billion at the end of the first quarter. Long-term debt was $13.48 billion, almost in line with the first-quarter end level.

Cash from operations at the end of the second quarter was $0.5 billion compared with the first quarter's level of $0.6 billion.

During the quarter, the company repurchased 1 million shares for $310 million compared with the buyback of 1.9 million shares for $500 million a year ago. The company paid dividends worth $570 million to its shareholders compared with the year-ago period's figure of $525 million.

Guidance

For 2018, Lockheed Martin has raised its financial guidance. The company currently expects to generate revenues in the range of $51.6-$53.1 billion, higher than the earlier provided projection of $50.35-$51.85 billion.

On the bottom-line front, the company now expects its earnings per share to be in the range of $16.75-$17.05 during 2018, higher than the earlier-announced guidance range of $15.80-$16.10.

The company has also increased its 2018 expectations for cash from operations. Lockheed Martin continues to expect more than $3.3 billion cash from operations, compared to earlier projections to generate more than $3 billion.

Zacks Rank

Lockheed Martin carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). 

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