Lockheed Raises 2003 Outlook Despite a 29% Drop in Earnings

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. said Thursday that its earnings fell 29% in the second quarter but raised its outlook for the year on forecasts of increased sales of fighter jets and government satellites.

The nation’s largest defense contractor earned $242 million, or 54 cents a share, for the April-June quarter, compared with $339 million, or 75 cents, a year earlier.

The results were lowered by $27 million, or 6 cents a share, by a charge stemming from Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed’s decision to end its mail-sorting business. The 2002 earnings were boosted by $90 million, or 20 cents a share, from a settlement of a tax credit claim.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expected Lockheed would earn 52 cents a share in the latest quarter.

Sales jumped 23% to $7.7 billion, driven largely by Lockheed’s aeronautics division. Lockheed has stepped up development of its F-35 joint strike fighter and the F/A-22 jet.

Those increases led Lockheed to raise its 2003 earnings outlook to $2.25 to $2.35 a share, up from previous earnings expectations of $2.20 to $2.30 a share.

Lockheed shares fell $1.83 to close at $51.55 on the New York Stock Exchange.