DRS reports
Filed under: Acquisitions, DRS Technologies, Finemeccanica, IT, Italy, production program
DRS Technologies reported that sales were a record high for the last quarter. See an article here. DRS also reported a 40% increase in profits and a record backlog of over $1 B dollars. As discussed here, Finmeccanica has agreed to buy the American company. This would be one of the largest foreign acquisitions of an American defense company.
Northrop Grumman continues strong performance of defense sector
Northrop Grumman continued the trend of the defense sector by reporting strong earnings and profits. See an article here. There had been some trepidation due to the taking back of the KC-45 contract. The company is able to still win this in December, and if it does it will contribute to further strong earnings and profits.
Raytheon reports
Raytheon had higher income this quarter compared, but had a decline in net. See a story release here. Raytheon continues the trend of defense contractors reporting increases in sales and income but not necessarily profits. Raytheon did predict that 2008 will be a good year for the company with a 15% increase in revenue.
Raytheon gains on missiles
Raytheon posted a solid quarter with profits rising 15%. See the press release here. Much of this was due to the work on PATRIOT and other missile systems, including significant foreign orders. This means that the first two large defense contractors to report, Boeing and Raytheon, have done very well recently. This should continue as long as the defense budgets remain large which can be expected for at least the next two years.
KC-45 post on Seeking Alpha
Filed under: Boeing, Contract Awards, EADS, Northrop Grumman Corp., Protest, U.S. Air Force, commercial aviation, logistics, production program
I submitted a small article for Seeking Alpha on the KC-45 as a component of the future profit of either Boeing or EADS. The post reads: “Boeing lost out to EADS for the new airforce tanker contract. The KC-45 will be a version of the Airbus 330 transport aircraft. Boeing had proposed a version of the 767 aircraft. Boeing predicted in their Current Market Outlook 2007 that 28,600 new aircarft will be required to meet the growth in the airline industry by 2026. One would assume Boeing and EADS would get a large portion of these aircraft. The US Air Force will probably order less than 400 aircraft. So the tanker contract will be a small componenet of future production for Boeing or EADS, and a small component of earnings.”
National Presto Industries profit surges
Filed under: Earnings, National Presto Industries, U.S. Army, logistics
National Presto Services profits increased 38% last year. See an article here. This diversified company that makes diapers, small appliances, and most key, ammunition; received a large contract from the US Army. Most likely this is for ammunition.





