Leidos Holdings (NYSE: LDOS) — one of 30 companies listed on Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index — has reported third quarter earnings of 71 cents per share to exceed the consensus Wall Street forecast by 5 cents and prior year figures by 6 cents.
Profit climbed 44.12 percent from the same period in 2014 to $49 million and revenue increased approximately 2.36 percent year-over-year to $1.3 billion to meet Wall Street’s expectations for third quarter sales.
The Reston, Va.-based contractor attributed the revenue growth to higher activity in its engineering and security products business.
Chairman and CEO Roger Krone told investors in a subsequent conference call the company has prioritized investments in research-and-development programs and test equipment to support its product development agenda.
“We’re looking for capabilities that enhance what we do in sectors we’re already in, with customers that we already know, ” Krone said to investors.
“We have not found anything out there for which the price and the quality of the property was commensurate with our view of growth going forward.
Leidos also raised its 2015 earnings guidance to a range of $2.65-to-$2.80 per share from the previous $2.40-$2.60 outlook and lifted its revenue outlook to between $4.95 billion and $5.10 billion from the prior $4.8 billion-to-$5 billion forecast.
Health and engineering segment sales jumped 12 percent from the prior year period and the national security solutions segment posted a 3-percent sales decline from third quarter 2014.
Backlog as of Sept. 30 was $10.5 billion, 26 percent higher than the same period last year, and funded backlog increased 5 percent year-over-year to $2.8 billion on the company’s selection in February for a 13-year contract to run the U.K. military’s commodities and services program.
Third quarter backlog also includes $98 million task order the company received through its prime contract for the Defense Department‘s potential $4.3 billion electronic health record program.
Shares of Leidos are up 11.65 percent since the year’s start and have climbed 36.87 percent over 12 months.
