General Dynamics quarterly results beat estimates on strong marine, jet business

In this Aug. 13, 1965 photo provided by the San Diego Air and Space Museum, technicians work on an Atlas Centaur 7 rocket at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection/San Diego Air and Space Museum via AP)

General Dynamics’ second-quarter profit and revenue topped analyst estimates on Wednesday, aided by robust earnings from the marine segment and higher business jet deliveries.

Shares of the company rose nearly three per cent in premarket trading.

The Gulfstream jet maker’s quarterly adjusted profit was US$3.74 per share, compared with analysts’ estimates of US$3.53 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

General Dynamics’ aerospace segment, which is recovering from supply chain woes and longer certification times, was able to ramp up deliveries during the quarter ended June 29.

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During the period, the Reston, Virginia-based company’s new G800 plane, the world’s longest-range business aircraft, earned certification from the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The plane has a range of 8,200 nautical miles (15,186 kilometres) at the Mach 0.85 long-range cruise speed, the company has said.

The segment’s aircraft deliveries hit 38 in the second quarter, compared with 37 in the same period a year ago. In the first quarter, the company delivered 36 Gulfstream jets.

The unit’s new bookings during the quarter were 1.3 times its billing, indicating a strong order book.

Revenue in the aerospace segment rose 4.1 per cent from a year ago.

General Dynamics’ nuclear-powered submarine-making marine systems segment also saw a 22.2 per cent rise in revenue.

During the quarter, the Pentagon had modified a submarine production contract awarded to the company’s marine segment, raising the value multi-fold to US$1.85 billion.

The company also entered into a new contract with its union members at its submarine-making unit, averting a shortage of skilled labor that has been contributing to delays in U.S. Navy ship building schedules.

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The Technologies segment, which makes products for a range of military, intelligence, federal civilian and state customers, experienced a 5.5 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue.

Defense manufacturers continued to benefit from strong demand for weapons and other military equipment during the reported quarter owing to the geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

The book-to-bill ratio was 2.4-to-1 for General Dynamics’ defense segments.

However, revenue within the combat systems part of the business, which manufactures land combat vehicles, weapons systems and munitions, edged down 0.2 per cent after taking a hit from the cancellation of the M10 Booker contract by the Pentagon as well as production delays owing to supply chain woes.

The company’s total quarterly revenue of US$1.30 billion also beat Wall Street analysts’ estimate of US$1.23 billion.

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Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Paul Simao