Lockheed Martin is not seeing as much of an impact from government spending cuts as it predicted earlier this year, as the aerospace and defense manufacturer reported net earnings of $859 million for the second quarter of 2013, a 10 percent increase over the same period 2012.
Quarterly sales reached $11.4 billion, a 4 percent drop from the second quarter of 2012, when the company reported $11.9 billion in quarterly sales. Earlier this year, Lockheed projected a loss of $825 million in anticipated annual revenue from sequestration.
Lockheed’s F-35 program, which has been mired by delays, showed increased production volume during the second quarter.
"Net sales increased by approximately $175 million from F-35 production contracts due to increased production volume and higher risk retirements," Lockheed said in its quarterly report.
Marilyn Hewson, chief executive of Lockheed Martin, told reporters she believes they’re making "good progress" in negotiations with the Pentagon for the next two production lots of F-35 fighter jets, and hopes to complete an agreement in the near future.
Despite the boost from its F-35 program, overall profit within Lockheed’s aeronautics unit decreased to $407 million, down from $454 million a year earlier, which the company attributed to lower net sales from F-16 programs.
Related: Commercial Avionics News