Lockheed Beats Estimates As It Buys Sikorsky, Mulls Spinoff Or Sale Of Other Businesses

Lockheed Martin said Monday it had net earnings of $929 million, or $2.94 a share, in the second quarter, up from $889 million, or 2.76 a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $11.6 billion from $11.3 billion. The results were better than the FactSet consensus for EPS of $2.66 and sales of $10.9 billion. The defense company, which said it is buying Sikorsky helicopters from United Technologies Inc. for $9.0 billion in cash, said it is also launching a strategic review of its government IT and technical services businesses. Lockheed expects the review to result in a spinoff or sale of the businesses and expects to conclude the review this year. The programs to be reviewed represent about $6.0 billion in estimated 2015 annual sales and about 17,000 employees, said the company. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 4.4% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 3.3%.