Lockheed Martin raises forecast as quarterly revenue beats

[July 19, 2016]  (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp, Pentagon's No. 1 weapons supplier, reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue, as the company benefited from the acquisition of helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft and increased sales of its F-35 fighter jet.

Shares of the company, which raised its full-year revenue and profit forecasts, rose 1.45 percent to $260.0 in premarket trading on Tuesday. They had gained about 18 percent this year through Monday's close.

Lockheed raised its 2016 profit forecast for the second time this year and said it now expected to earn $12.15–$12.45 per share, from $11.50-$11.80 previously estimated.

The company also raised it 2016 sales forecast to $50.0 billion-$51.5 billion, from $49.6 billion-$51.1 billion.

Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $11.84 per share and revenue of $50.46 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Lockheed said sales in its aeronautics business, the company's biggest, rose 6 percent as it delivered 14 F-35 jets, compared with 11 a year earlier.

The F-35 program is the Pentagon's costliest arms program. It expects to spend $379 billion to develop the plane and buy 2,457 of the supersonic, stealthy new warplanes, in the coming decades.

The company's net income rose to $1.02 billion, or $3.32 per share, in the second quarter ended June 26, from $929 million, or $2.94 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding additional income tax benefits of $11 million, Lockheed earned $3.28 per share.

Net sales rose to $12.91 billion from $11.64 billion.

Analysts on average had expected profit of $2.93 per share on revenue $12.55 billion.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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