DOW JONES NEWSWIRES L-3 Communications Holding Inc.'s (LLL) fourth-quarter profit climbed 18%, topping the contractor's own outlook, as sales, margins and funded ordered increased. The company raised its earnings view for 2011 to $8.40 to $8.55 a share, from the $8.20 to $8.40 projected last month, pointing to lower-than-expected pension expense and acquisition gains. It affirmed it net sales outlook. The contractor of services such as training militaries and upgrading government aircraft differs from larger rivals who rely on a few major contracts for the bulk of revenue. Its core earnings have held up in recent quarters as defense companies prepare for slowing spending by customers such as the U.S. military. L-3 posted a profit of $268 million, or $2.37 a share, up from $227 million, or $1.93 a share, a year earlier. Net sales rose 1.1% to $4.26 billion. In October it had forecast earnings of about $2.27 on $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion in revenue. Operating margin climbed to 10.8% from 10.6%. Funded orders climbed 4.8% from a year earlier to $4.4 billion as funded backlog ended the period at $11.1 billion, up 1.8%. The electronic systems segment, typically L-3's biggest by revenue, saw sales improve 24% as operating income increased 19%. Shares were inactive premarket and closed Wednesday at $77.35. The stock is up 8.7% in the past three months. -By Matt Jarzemsky and Lauren Pollock, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2356; lauren.pollock@dowjones.com
