SAIC post 7 percent increase in 3Q profits, offers bright outlook
(12-10) 13:58 PST SAN DIEGO, (AP) —
Defense contractor SAIC Inc. posted a 7 percent increase in fiscal third-quarter profit Monday and said it may surpass its earnings estimate for the entire year.
The company said its annual earnings from continuing operations would be “at the top end” or slightly exceed its previous estimate of 83 cents to 88 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting 87 cents a share.
SAIC earned $105 million during the three-month period ended Oct. 31, compared with a profit of $98 million during the same period last year.
Per-share earnings fell to 25 cents from 28 cents because the company had more shares outstanding during the latest period.
The latest period included a loss of 1 cent a share from discontinued operations.
Excluding discontinued operations, SAIC earned 26 cents a share, exceeding analysts’ expectations of 23 cents a share.
Revenue jumped 14 percent to $2.37 billion from $2.08 billion, above analysts’ estimates of $2.29 billion.
The results were released after markets closed. SAIC’s shares fell 19 cents, or 1 percent, to $19.84 during regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange. They added 67 cents after hours.
SAIC, also known as Science Applications International, is in its first fiscal year as a publicly traded company. Kenneth Dahlberg, who became chief executive after a run at General Dynamics Corp., engineered the initial public offering and set ambitious growth targets.
Dahlberg has sought to end SAIC’s tradition of having business units compete against each other for government contracts. At SAIC’s first annual investor conference in October, he said SAIC fostered a culture of “entrepreneurial Darwinism” under his predecessor, company founder Robert Beyster.
The San Diego-based company had $1.13 billion in cash at the end of the quarter. Some investors have been pressing SAIC to tap its healthy cash stockpile for acquisitions.
During the first nine months of its fiscal year, SAIC earned $316 million, or 76 cents a share, compared to a profit of $307 million, or 89 cents a share, during the same period a year earlier. Revenue grew 11 percent to $6.6 billion from $5.97 billion.
SAIC has been profitable for each of its 38 years and performs some of the most sensitive security work for the U.S. government, which accounts for about 90 percent of its revenue.
