Lockheed Posts 3rd-Quarter Profit

Lockheed Martin Corp., the largest defense contractor, said Friday that it had a third-quarter profit of $213 million after reducing expenses, paring assets and selling more fighter aircraft.

Net income was 49 cents a share. In the year-earlier quarter, Lockheed had a loss of $704 million, or $1.74, after almost $1 billion in expenses related to a loss on the sale of a business. Sales rose 7.1% to $6.38 billion.

Lockheed received payments on $500 million in F-16 orders in the quarter. After suffering delays and cost overruns, Lockheed replaced top managers at its aircraft business last year.

Earnings were released before it was announced that the company was chosen over Boeing Co. to build the $200-billion Joint Strike Fighter program, the costliest military aircraft program in history.

The Bethesda, Md.-based company has $7.7 billion in long-term debt, down $2.2 billion from the start of the year.

Lockheed shares rose $1.02 to close at $49.92 on the New York Stock Exchange, before the Joint Strike Fighter announcement. The stock has climbed 50% this year, in part on expectations that defense spending will increase.

Excluding some nonrecurring and usual items, Lockheed said it would have earned 41 cents a share in the quarter. On that basis, the firm was expected to earn 37 cents, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.

Lockheed said profit for the remainder of 2001 and next year probably will meet the average estimates of analysts. Lockheed is expected to earn $1.44 a share this year and $1.72 in 2002.

Other earnings, excluding one-time gains and charges unless noted:

* NEC Corp. reported a first-half loss of $242.3 billion that was in line with expectations, and stuck to its forecast of a full-year loss of $122 million. The company said it didn’t expect chip industry conditions to improve in the second half. NEC earned $166.7 million in the year-earlier period.

* Reliant Energy Inc. said net income fell to $290 million, or 99 cents a share, from $389 million, or $1.34, a year ago. Revenue rose 31% to $12.5 billion.

Net income included a $22-million write-off related to the Houston-based company’s communications business. Excluding that item, Reliant Energy earned $312 million, or $1.07 a share, 3 cents below analysts’ estimates.

* Toshiba Corp., the world’s second-biggest chip maker, had a first-half loss of $1 billion, nearly double the expected full-year loss. The company had a profit of $438.2 million in the year-ago period. The Tokyo-based company is reeling from a decline in dynamic random access memory-chip prices that has driven other companies out of business. Toshiba forecast a loss of $1.62 billion for the year ending March 31, up from its earlier projection of $935 million.

* UnitedHealth Group Inc. said third-quarter net income rose to $231 million, or 71 cents a share, from $182 million, or 54 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 11% to $5.94 billion as the Minnetonka, Minn.-based health insurer added customers and raised premiums faster than medical costs increased.

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Earnings Reports

A sampling of companies reporting quarterly earnings Friday, ranked by year-over-year growth in operating earnings-per-share (EPS), compiled by Thomson Financial/First Call.

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Analysts’ % above/ Year-- Year-- Ticker est. Actual below ago over--year Company symbol EPS EPS estimate qtr. % change Baker Hughes BHI $0.34 $0.41 +21% $0.21 +95% Allegheny Energy AYE 1.16 1.32 +14 0.69 +91 HCR Manor Care HCR 0.29 0.30 +3 0.20 +50 UST UST 0.73 0.75 +3 0.69 +9 Constellation Energy CEG 0.96 1.00 +4 0.98 +2 CMS Energy CMS 0.14 0.35 +150 0.47 --26 Eastman Chemical EMN 0.47 0.55 +17 1.05 --48 Great Lakes Chemical GLK --0.15 --0.14 NM 0.49 NM

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Notes: NM = not meaningful. A loss in any period makes percentage change not calculable.

Year-over-year growth and percentage changes are based on earnings-per-share figures and may differ from percentage changes based on total profit.

For more information on First Call, check www.firstcall.com.

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Fighter pact:Lockheed wins $200-billion Pentagon contract. A1