MINNEAPOLIS --- Alliant Techsystems reported today that earnings per share in the third quarter rose 21 percent to $1.53, which includes 15 cents of EPS benefit due to the extension of the Federal research and development tax credit (11 cents of which pertained to prior quarters).
Based on the strength of the quarter and better visibility into the remainder of the year, ATK is raising its FY07 EPS guidance to a range of $5.10 - $5.15. In addition, the company now expects FY07 sales of approximately $3.5 billion, up from its previous guidance of in excess of $3.45 billion.
Sales for the quarter, which ended December 31, rose 17 percent to $900 million from $770 million in the prior-year quarter. Orders were up 7 percent to $868 million from $812 million in the prior-year period. The company's third-quarter EBIT margin (earnings before interest and income taxes as a percent of sales) was 10.3 percent -- on track for full-year EBIT performance of approximately 10 percent.
"Clearly, this was an exceptional quarter for ATK and our shareholders," said Dan Murphy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The businesses performed well. We strengthened our order profile significantly and continued delivering on our commitment of double digit earnings growth. Because of the strong quarter and our confidence in the full year, we're raising guidance for EPS, sales, and orders," said Murphy.
Earnings per share for the first nine months of fiscal year 2007 increased 12 percent to $3.74, compared to $3.34 a year ago. Sales through the third quarter were up 11 percent to $2.56 billion, versus $2.30 billion in the previous year. Orders increased 13 percent to $2.42 billion from $2.15 billion in the prior year.
Year-to-date, the company has used $53 million in operating cash. In the prior-year period, the company's operations provided $145 million of operating cash. The decrease reflects ATK's previously announced capital deployment strategy to incrementally fund its pension obligations. Year-to-date, ATK has contributed approximately $313 million to the pension plan, compared to $26 million in the prior-year period. The increase reflects prepayments of $300 million to nearly fully-fund ATK's pension plan. (end of excerpt).
Click here for the full press release, on the ATK website.
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ATK Raises FY08 EPS Guidance to $5.80 - $6.00 on Strength of Sales Now Expected to Reach $3.7 - $3.8 Billion (Excerpt)
