Lockheed Net Dips 1.1% Despite Jump in Revenue

Lockheed earned said it earned 1.1% less in the first quarter than it did in same three-month period a year earlier despite an 18% rise in revenue.

The 1.1% decline in profit was blamed on higher interest expenses in connection with debt taken on to acquire Sanders Associates last year. Interest expenses jumped to $29 million in the first quarter from $11 million in the year before.

Defense program profits rose, but profit margins were down from the year before, said Lawrence O. Kitchen, chairman and chief executive. The decline in margins was blamed on amortization of some acquisition costs and increased cost sharing on aircraft programs.

The Calabasas-based company said first-quarter funded backlog was $10.3 billion, compared to $9.8 billion at year-end 1986. Employment at the end of the quarter rose to 97,300 from 96,900 at year-end.