Raytheon beats expectations

Raytheon Co. said today its first-quarter profit rose 21 percent on strong sales of missiles and battle operations communications systems.

Also boosted by improving results at an aircraft unit that it sold last month, the performance by the world's fifth-largest defense contractor beat Wall Street expectations.

The Waltham-based company said net income for the January-March period was $346 million, or 76 cents per share, compared with $287 million, or 64 cents per share, in last year's first quarter.

Sales rose 6 percent to $4.93 billion from $4.66 billion a year ago, narrowly beating the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who forecast sales of $4.90 billion.

The latest quarter's results were aided by a profit of $32 million, or 7 cents per share, recorded in the latest quarter at Raytheon Aircraft Co., a Wichita, Kan.-based unit that the company sold in a $3.3 billion deal that closed March 26. In the year-ago period, the profit at the aircraft unit was $15 million, or 3 cents per share.

Excluding the gain at the aircraft business and one-time expenses and gains in both comparison quarters, Raytheon's profit in the latest quarter was $314 million, or 69 cents per share, compared with $272 million, or 61 cents per share, in last year's first quarter.

On that basis, Raytheon's per-share profit of 69 cents in the latest period beat the consensus estimate of analysts, who expected a profit of 63 cents per share.

The 80,000-employee company said it added $5.28 billion in government and defense contract bookings in the first quarter compared with $4.97 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Raytheon, maker of Patriot, Hawk and Tomahawk missiles, said first-quarter sales at its Missile Systems Division rose 15 percent to $1.14 billion, while sales at the Integrated Defense Systems unit rose 13 percent to $1.09 billion. That Tewksbury, Mass.-based unit develops surveillance and communications technology to coordinate battle operations.

Raytheon reaffirmed its earlier financial expectations for a 2007 profit in the range of $2.85 to $3 per share, and sales of $21.4 billion to $21.9 billion.

Analysts forecast $21.77 billion in revenue and a profit of $3.01 per share.
(AP)