BA

Charges related to the shut down of the Connexion satellite Internet unit pushed Boeing Co.‘s profit lower in the 2006 third quarter, the company announced Oct. 25.

Boeing posted a profit of $694 million in the quarter which closed Sept. 30, down from earnings of $1 billion in the same period in 2005. Revenues improved from $12.4 billion to $14.7 billion over the same period.

Boeing announced in August that it will end the Connexion service at the end of 2006. The company is believed to have lost about $1 billion on the satellite broadband service and has previously announced it would take a $350 million charge to end the venture.

Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, which includes the company’s space business, reported revenues of $7.8 billion in the quarter, up 4 percent from the 2005 third quarter, but the Network & Space Systems unit reported a decline in revenues from $3 billion a year ago to $2.9 billion in the 2006 third quarter due to due to lower volume in the Ground- based Midcourse Defense program and fewer planned completions in the commercial satellite business.

Integrated Defense Systems reported an operating profit of $879 million in the most recent quarter, down from $1.3 billion in the 2005 third quarter. Network & Space Systems reported operating profit of $228 million, down from $712 million in the 2005 third quarter when Boeing recorded a $569 million gain from the sale of Rocketdyne.

LMT

Higher volumes in satellite programs helped Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Space Systems segment post gains in revenues and operating profit in the 2006 third quarter, the company announced Oct. 24.

The segment reported revenues of $1.9 billion and operating profit of $176 million in the quarter, which closed Sept. 30. In the 2005 third quarter, Space Systems reported an operating profit of $154 million on revenues of $1.7 billion.

Space Systems delivered one commercial satellite in the 2006 third quarter and four to date this year, compared to none during the comparable 2005 periods. Launch services revenues remained relatively unchanged from a year ago, Lockheed Martin said, though the gain in operating profit was attributed to launch services, which offset a slight decline in satellites.

Overall, Lockheed Martin posted a profit of $629 million on revenues of $9.6 billion in the 2006 third quarter, up from earnings of $427 million on revenues of $9.2 billion in the same period a year ago.

ORB

Orbital Sciences Corp. reported a profit of $8.6 million on revenues of $197.7 million in the 2006 third quarter, the company announced Oct. 27. In the 2005 third quarter, Orbital earned $6.8 million on revenues of $159.3 million.

Orbital credited the revenue gains to a 58 percent increase in satellites and space systems segment revenues to $117.9 million in the third quarter. This was driven by growth in commercial communications satellites due to work on contracts awarded in 2005. The improvement in satellite work overcame an 11 percent drop in launch vehicle revenues to $71.2 million, as a drop in the interceptor launch vehicle and target vehicle product lines offset gains in space launch work.

Orbital reported operating income of $15.3 million in the third quarter of 2006, a 25 percent increase over operating income of $12.2 million in the 2005 third quarter. The gains were again driven by commercial satellite work, as operating income jumped from $3.7 million a year ago to $7.7 million in the most recent quarter. The drop in interceptor work reduced launch vehicle operating income by $1 million to $7.6 million in the 2006 third quarter.

Orbital booked about $765 million in new firm and option contract in the 2006 third quarter along with $20 million of option exercises under existing contracts. The additions bring Orbital’s firm backlog to about $1.9 billion and the total backlog to $3.5 billion.

NOC

Northrop Grumman Corp.‘s Aerospace segment, which includes the company’s satellite operations, reported a 10 percent improvement in operation margin in the third quarter of 2006 despite a 6 percent drop in revenues, Northrop Grumman reported Oct. 24.

The unit reported an operating margin of $210 million on revenues of $2.1 billion in the quarter, which closed Sept. 30, compared to an operating margin of $191 million on revenues of $2.2 billion in the 2005 third quarter.

The Space Technology unit within Aerospace posted revenues of $782 million and an operating margin of $73 million in the 2006 third quarter, compared to revenues of $842 million and an operating margin of $72 million a year ago.

Northrop Grumman attributed the revenue decline to lower volume for the company’s work on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and restricted programs. These declines were partially offset by higher sales for the Space Tracking and Surveillance System, Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite and Airborne Laser programs for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Space Technology operating margin increased 1 percent due to the sale of a patent and improved performance in the Advanced Extremely High Frequency program, the company said.

Overall, Northrop Grumman reported a 2 percent gain in revenues to $7.4 billion in the 2006 third quarter, while profits improved 3 percent to $302 million.