L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) announced its first quarter financials, including diluted earnings per share of $1.85 for the quarter, compared to $1.87 for the first quarter 2010. Net sales were down about one percent.
“L-3’s strong overall program performance provides a good start to the year despite challenging market conditions during the first quarter, particularly in services, ” CEO Michael T. Strianese said. “We continue to focus on operational program performance, developing innovative products, and managing our costs. Key contract re-compete wins during the quarter included a U.S. Air Force and Navy C-12 aircraft CLS contract and a SOCOM Enterprise IT support services contract. We also continued to deploy our strong cash flow to increase shareholder value. We repurchased $205 million of our common stock and paid dividends of $49 million during the quarter, and, our board of directors increased L-3’s quarterly cash dividend by 13% to $0.45 per share. This dividend increase marks our seventh consecutive yearly increase and demonstrates our confidence in L-3’s strategic position and future prospects.”
