L-3 Communications reports drop in 2Q profit

NEW YORK - L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter profit dropped 18 percent, which compared unfavorably to the same quarter last year, but the military contractor still beat Wall Street expectations.

Net income of $223 million, or $1.90 per share, was down from $273 million, or $2.21 per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings to be $1.77 per share on revenue of $3.84 billion.

Revenue for the quarter ended June 26 was $3.93 billion, up nearly 6 percent from $3.72 billion in the year-ago period.

The New York-based company said its second-quarter results last year were affected by items that increased operating income by $71 million after income taxes, or 57 cents per share. Excluding these items, net income increased by $21 million in the second quarter of 2009 over the year-ago period, L-3 Communications said.

Revenue in the quarter was driven primarily by growth in company's communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and aircraft modernization and maintenance businesses.

However, the company said revenue was down in its government services business due primarily to a decline in its linguist services business when L-3 Communications shifted from a prime contractor to a subcontractor for the U.S. Army.

In premarket trading, L-3 shares rose $1.70, or 2.4 percent, to $73.22.

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