Lockheed Martin earnings spike to $1.8Bln in 2022 Q3

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Arms manufacturing conglomerate Lockheed Martin saw an increase in net sales and earnings in Q3 of 2022, the arms manufacturer said Tuesday in a press release.

According to the aerospace giant, the corporation reported net sales of $16.6 billion in Q3 of 2022, making for a year-on-year increase of more than $600 million.

Meanwhile, "Net earnings in the third quarter of 2022 were $1.8 billion, or $6.71 per share, compared to $614 million, or $2.21 per share, in the third quarter of 2021," the company added.

Lockheed Martin was subject to an anti-trust probe by the US government's federal antitrust authority, preventing the defense giant from buying rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne for $4.4 billion earlier in the year.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in January that it had sued to stop the acquisition of the country's last independent supplier of missile propulsion systems over concerns that Lockheed would use its leverage to harm rival defense contractors.

Lockheed Martin, however, is still conducting business as usual with Washington, as it handed over its first operational Multiple Rocket Launch System (MLRS) to the US Army, the company announced in mid-July.

Lockheed Martin also saw a $1.2 billion year-on-year increase in cash from operations from the $1.9 billion it made during the same period of 2021, totaling $3.1 billion. At the same time, cash flow also witnessed a steep increase, totaling at $2.7 billion after it recorded $1.6 in the same period of last year.

Lockheed Martin President and CEO James Taiclet underlined that the company had the capabilities to continue growing and investing in new technologies.

"These technologies include hypersonics, directed energy, and autonomy, as well as cutting edge digital capabilities in our evolving 5G.MIL open standards-based architecture," Taiclet underlined.

He also revealed that his company was "investing in production and sustainment capacity for the solutions needed now to defend our allies and our nation, including F-35, Javelin, and HIMARS."

The aerial unit of arms manufacturing conglomerate, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, recorded an increase in its net sales for the quarter, too. Its net sales rose by $521 million, or 8% year-on-year, increasing by about $425 million for the F-35 program.

"MFC's [Missile and Fire Control] net sales during the quarter ended Sept. 25, 2022, increased $50 million, or 2%, compared to the same period in 2021," the company said.

"The increase was primarily attributable to higher net sales of approximately $95 million for integrated air and missile defense programs due to higher volume (Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3))," it added.

At the same time, space's net sales were up by $183 million in the third quarter of this year, or 7%, compared to the same period in 2021.

The main contributor to the increase in the company's gains is Washington's backing of Ukraine in the ongoing war, with the Biden administration flooding Kiev with billions upon billions in arms and military equipment.

Despite that, Ukraine has been found to be selling weapons it acquired from the West on the black market due to the Kiev forces' limited ability to use them because of their lack of training, logistical challenges, and the diminishing size of the Ukrainian armed forces, as per former Pentagon advisor Karen Kwiatkowski.

Read next: Stingers, Javelin missiles sent to Kiev sold on black market: Lavrov

Though the United States has been taking care of providing training for the Ukrainian soldiers when it comes to arms they are not accustomed to, Kiev is still selling its arms to the black market due to "inexperience".

Even HIMARS are likely to be sold, US defense officials have said, though Pentagon policy chief Colin Kahl said Kiev's forces recently completed training on HIMARS delivered to Ukraine by Washington and London.

Just days ago, US President Joe Biden ordered on Friday an additional $725 million in weapons shipments to Ukraine. The White House did not specify the nature of the latest disbursement, only that it would be another reduction in Defense Department "defense articles and services."

Last month, during one of the latest displays of Biden's seemingly bottomless provisions of aid to Ukraine, Washington announced it will send another $600 million in military assistance to Ukraine on top of the $675 million package which was announced a week earlier.