* 3rd-qtr profit $1.70/shr vs Street view $1.78
* Operating margin falls to 11.4 pct from 12.7 pct
Oct 24 (Reuters) – Weapons and aircraft maker General
Dynamics Corp said on Wednesday third-quarter earnings
slid 8 percent as margins fell, missing analysts’ forecasts.
The company, which builds warships, ground combat vehicles
and business jets, said net earnings fell to $600 million, or
$1.70 per share, from $652 million, or $1.80 per share, a year
earlier. Revenue rose 1 percent to $7.93 billion.
Operating margins fell to 11.4 percent from 12.7 percent,
reflecting a $25 million charge in the company’s Information
Systems and Technology group to revalue a portion of its
ruggedized-computer inventory.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S expected
earnings per share of $1.78 on revenue of $8.04 billion.
The company, based in Falls Church, Virginia, said its
backlog at the end of the quarter was $51.5 billion, and the
estimated potential contract value was an additional $26.1
billion.
It said demand in the quarter was particularly strong for
aerospace products, including orders for every type of
Gulfstream aircraft.
Chief Executive Jay Johnson, who plans to retire at the end
of the year, said the company made “notable progress” on several
core programs, including certification of the Gulfstream G650
and G280 aircraft and additional production awards of key
military communications systems.
