starbuxsux
9 years ago
Exelis Profit Tops Views as Planned Takeover by Harris Nears
May 06, 2015 06:30:00 (ET)
By Doug Cameron
Exelis Inc. on Wednesday reported forecast-beating quarterly profit and higher sales, removing another impediment to its planned takeover by Harris Corp. in what would be the largest U.S. defense acquisition in two decades.
The lack of negative surprises by Exelis, a specialist in night-vision goggles, communication systems and air-traffic control equipment, was viewed by analysts as a positive for the planned creation of a top-10 U.S. Pentagon supplier by sales.
Harris on Tuesday detailed lingering antitrust issues over the planned deal, with talks continuing with the Justice Department over control of intellectual property on future Army radio contracts. The company doesn't expect to have to make any asset disposals to satisfy antitrust requirements, though analysts suggested it may have to hand over some IP to the Pentagon ahead of the planned Army radio deal.
Exelis shareholders are due to vote on the cash-and-stock transaction on May 22, with Harris still expecting to close a deal in June, in line with the timetable when the transaction was announced in February.
Exelis, based in McLean, Va., reported profit of $59 million in the first quarter, up from $52 million a year earlier, with per-share earnings from continuing operations rising to 31 cents, four cents above analyst expectations.
Earnings beats in the aerospace and defense sector this quarter have received a muted reception from investors, who have reversed part of the rotation into military stocks that were perceived to have less exposure to currency and energy-market risk than other industrial companies.
Exelis shares are up 40% this year, compared with a 2% gain in the broader U.S. defense sector, while Harris shares have climbed 10%.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 06, 2015 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
starbuxsux
9 years ago
Harris Revenue Declines Across All Business Units -- Update
May 05, 2015 09:34:00 (ET)
By Doug Cameron And Chelsey Dulaney
Harris Corp. said Tuesday it expected to win antitrust approval for its planned acquisition of Exelis Inc. without having to make any asset disposals, and said the $4.6 billion deal is still slated to close in June.
The remaining stumbling block in talks with the Justice Department is its ownership of intellectual property related to a planned Army radio upgrade that it was confident of resolving, Chief Executive Bill Brown said on a post-earnings call.
"We don't believe it will require any divestiture of assets," Mr. Brown said as the aerospace and defense company reported forecast-beating fiscal third quarter profits. Harris has received a second request for information from the Justice Department over the Exelis deal.
Harris has secured some big Pentagon radio contracts this year, notably the $3.9 billion Rifleman deal announced last week. It is also competing for a larger award in the second half, though Mr. Brown said it was too soon to call a bottom for the military radio market.
The company's commercial business has been hit by the slowdown in energy markets that has reduced demand from oil and gas companies. Mr. Brown said this would weigh on sales, though it was transferring some available spectrum to alternative markets such as cruise-line operators, where demand for Internet services is soaring.
Harris retained its full-year guidance, though the dip in energy markets and Pentagon budget pressures reduced revenue by 6.4% in the latest quarter from a year ago,
For its fiscal third quarter ended April 3, Harris reported a profit of $125.7 million, or $1.20 a share, down from $141.4 million, or $1.31 a share, a year ago. Excluding acquisition costs, per-share earnings were $1.32.
Revenue in Harris's communications business fell 1.4%, and revenue in the government communications systems business declined 4.5%. Revenue in its integrated networks solutions business was off 14%.
Orders in the quarter were $1.21 billion, up from $1.11 billion a year earlier.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com and Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 05, 2015 09:34 ET (13:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
starbuxsux
9 years ago
Harris Corporation Completes Final Testing of NOAA's GOES-R Series Ground Segment Infrastructure
May 04, 2015 13:00:00 (ET)
Highlights
-- Ground system completion helps NOAA prepare for March 2016 satellite
launch
-- Milestone marks readiness to support satellite launch and transition from
Harris to NOAA
-- GOES-R Series ground segment will provide weather data significantly
faster than the current GOES system
MELBOURNE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 04, 2015--
Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has successfully completed the final two tests of the ground segment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite -- R Series (GOES-R). The ground system is now ready for use by NOAA as it prepares for the GOES-R satellite launch in March 2016, with Harris providing training and operations support.
Through testing and verification, Harris demonstrated the ability of the GOES-R Series ground system to generate weather products at all operational sites. Harris also performed successful interface testing with the National Weather Service's (NWS) Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, including the ability to send continuous images processed by the ground system.
Once launched, the GOES-R satellite, the first of the series, will be a primary tool for detecting and tracking hurricanes and other severe weather in the Western Hemisphere, reducing risks to lives and property. The ground system is an enterprise-wide network backbone which will ingest, process and distribute 40 times more data to the NWS than current systems and to more than 10,000 other direct users. It will also provide command and control of the GOES-R constellation of satellites and their onboard instruments.
"GOES-R will enable major improvements in weather forecasting that will add tremendous capability for a weather-ready nation," said Romy Olaisen, vice president, Global Weather Solution Programs, Harris Government Communications Systems. "With the ground system installed and tested well in advance of launch, NOAA has time to prepare for this transformational change in weather intelligence. Our role now transitions to operational support and system enhancements, through launch and beyond."
Harris is the prime contractor and systems integrator for the GOES-R Series ground segment, which includes 2,100 servers, 149 racks of network equipment, 317 workstations and storage services totaling three petabytes. The system also contains 454 blade servers for product processing and distribution across all environments, delivering approximately 40 trillion floating point operations per second of processing power. In addition, the GOES-R ground segment architecture has a flexible design that will support additional requirements in the future.
About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 125 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and about 13,000 employees -- including 6,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications(R) products, systems, and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at harris.com.
CONTACT: Sleighton Meyer, 321-727-6514
Harris Government Communications Systems
sleighton.meyer@harris.com
or
Jim Burke, 321-727-9131
Harris Corporation
jim.burke@harris.com
SOURCE: Harris Corporation
Copyright Business Wire 2015
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2015 13:00 ET (17:00 GMT)
TheFinalCD
10 years ago
Harris Corporation Receives $100 Million Order from Australian Department of Defence for Falcon® Tactical Radios
Print
Alert
Harris (NYSE:HRS)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 26 December 2013
Click Here for more Harris Charts.
Highlights:
• Delivering multiband handheld and high-frequency manpack radios.
• Provides Australian military with line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight communications.
• Further expands deployment of wideband radios and tactical area communications systems.
Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), an international communications and information technology company, has received a $100 million follow-on order to provide multiband handheld and high-frequency manpack tactical radios to the Australian Department of Defence.
Harris will deliver the radios in the latest phase of the Joint Project 2072 modernization program. The Australian military forces are fielding and deploying additional Falcon III® AN/PRC-152 handheld radios and vehicular adapters as well as Falcon II® AN/PRC-150(C) high-frequency manpack radios.
"This order extends the longstanding relationship between Harris and the Commonwealth of Australia and demonstrates their continued trust in our tactical communications solutions,” said Brendan O’Connell, president, International Business, Harris RF Communications. “We deeply value our partnership with the Australian Department of Defence as it embarks on its long-term goal of creating a next-generation wideband tactical communications network.”
The Falcon III AN/PRC-152 is the first Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) software communications architecture-certified multiband, multimode handheld radio. The radio provides line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight communications capabilities.
The Falcon II AN/PRC-150(C) high-frequency manpack is the only military Type-1 HF radio available today, setting the standard for secure, reliable, long-range beyond-line-of-sight communications on the battlefield.
Harris is providing long-term support for the Australian military forces through its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Newstead, Brisbane and the Harris Communications Logistics Centre in Pinkeba, Queensland. The Logistics Centre provides service and support to test and integrate communication systems into various platforms.
Harris RF Communications is the leading global supplier of secure radio communications and embedded high-grade encryption solutions for military, government and commercial organizations. The company's Falcon® family of software-defined tactical radio systems encompasses manpack, handheld and vehicular applications. Falcon III® is the next generation of radios supporting the U.S. military's JTRS requirements, as well as network-centric operations worldwide. Harris RF Communications is also a leading supplier of assured communications® systems and equipment for public safety, utility and transportation markets — with products ranging from the most advanced IP voice and data networks to portable and mobile single and multiband radios.
About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 125 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and about 14,000 employees — including 6,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications® products, systems and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at harris.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current expectations, assumptions and estimates of future performance and economic conditions. Such statements are made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and future trends to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements about the expected value of the program to Harris are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Harris disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
RF Communications
Ben Rand, 585-241-8187
Ben.Rand@Harris.com
or
Corporate Headquarters
Jim Burke, 321-727-9131
Jim.Burke@harris.com
johnsyn
11 years ago
Strong Tailwinds for Aerospace Electronics
by John Persinos
November 5, 2012
As worldwide defense spending shows more strength than widely anticipated and the battered civilian aerospace market shakes off its slump, companies with long-time expertise in aircraft electronics will emerge as huge winners.
Harris Corp (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company, is well positioned to gain from these trends by virtue of its innovative products and client diversification.
Based in Melbourne, Florida, the company is divided into three segments: Radio Frequency Communications, Integrated Network Solutions and Government Communications Systems.
What gives Harris long-term staying power is an approximate 50/50 split between commercial and government clients, which allows it to weather a slump in any one sector. For the company's full fiscal year 2012 (ending in June), revenue reached $5.5 billion, roughly half from the commercial sector and the other half from government agencies including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Pentagon. This dichotomy helped the company survive the brutal slowdown in commercial aviation, which is finally showing signs of easing.
Meanwhile, the military electronics market will be fueled over the next decade by expanding airlift operations worldwide and the corresponding need for new communication, navigation and surveillance technologies that allow military aircraft to share airspace with commercial aircraft.
These are the very technologies in which Harris excels. Harris' products include combat radios, fighter-jet cockpit communications and command-control systems for military planners.
Harris helps end-users contribute to product development by maintaining a transparent supply chain that fosters collaboration and integration. This "groupware” approach to its supply chain ensures that each of the vendors contributing to an avionics or communications system produces standardized modules that can be easily integrated. Hence the company's oft-repeated motto: "Right item, right supplier, the first time.”
The US military covets the company's products and Uncle Sam is one of the most profitable and reliable clients a business can serve. The Department of Defense (DoD) budget for 2012 is roughly $525 billion, up 89 percent since 2001. And despite investor fears of draconian cutbacks, reports of military spending's demise are highly politicized and greatly exaggerated.
Between now and the end of 2012, Democrats and Republicans must put aside their rancorous differences and somehow forge a compromise to avoid the dreaded "fiscal cliff,” the term for drastic spending cuts and tax increases passed last year by Congress to prevent a first-ever US government default.
If January arrives without a federal budget agreement, investors can anticipate a broad selloff of stocks. The typically sacred DoD would be a major casualty of the fiscal cliff, with a projected $55 billion in reductions from current levels of discretionary defense spending in 2013. That represents a minimum 10 percent cut to nearly every defense program and activity.
Military hawks are loudly protesting these potential military cuts and key committee chairmen on Capitol Hill are working overtime to rescue defense from the chopping block.
The smart bet, though, is that the military won't hold a bake sale anytime soon. Students of politics know that the Pentagon almost always gets its way.
Despite the increasingly nasty partisan rhetoric, there's a strong likelihood that reason will prevail and a political deal will be hammered out before the tax and fiscal package is automatically triggered on January 1, 2013.
Military spending is likely to grow, regardless of which party occupies the White House or controls Congress. Robust Pentagon outlays in turn boost high-margin military electronics, which is Harris' forte.
The secular trend for greater military aerospace spending is global. According to the Teal Group, aerospace consultants based in Fairfax, Virginia, the world's air forces are at various combat aircraft replacement and upgrade cycles, which is good news for the avionics and electronics market. Despite calls for austerity in troubled euro zone countries, the aerospace market remains a global arms bazaar.
With their coffers full of "petro-dollars” and tensions in the region rising, Middle Eastern sheikdoms have been in a mood to buy fighter jets and communications systems. At the same time, most NATO countries are in an active replacement phase for their 1970s designed aircraft, while emerging nations such as India will evaluate entirely new aircraft sources in the near future.
More than 5,000 combat aircraft will enter service globally over the next decade, with a peak of 524 deliveries in 2014. These aircraft require sophisticated electronics and communications systems—Harris' area of expertise and a market whereby it enjoys loyal, repeat clients.
On the Bargain Counter
Despite these long-term advantages, the company's stock now trades at a bargain because of a disappointing first-quarter performance. On Oct. 29, Harris reported a net loss of $85.8 million in its first quarter for fiscal 2013, compared to net income of $121.6 million during the same period last year. The company also reported a 5.9 percent drop in revenue to $1.26 billion compared to $1.34 billion in 2011.
However, most investors are overlooking the fact that these numbers represent a one-time setback. Management blamed the earnings misfire on large impairment charges in the first quarter from discontinued operations in broadcast communications and cloud-computing data services, as the company seeks to focus on its core aerospace operations—a wise move that will payoff over the long term.
Orders in Harris' pipeline point to continued strong growth in the second quarter, but with a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 8, the company remains attractively valued compared to the peers. Defense stocks now sport a trailing P/E of 10, compared to the trailing market P/E of 11.
In a harbinger of future success, Harris on Oct. 30 received a new $50.5 million order from the US Army for next-generation satellite communications terminals. Harris is the prime contractor for the five-year contract, which has a ceiling of $600 million.
Also in late October, Harris was awarded a DoD contract worth $397 million to continue providing it with its Falcon III handheld tactical radio systems.
Harris generates strong free cash flow and on Oct. 26 increased its dividend by 12 percent, the second increase this calendar year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, or $1.48 annualized, for an annual yield on the dividend of 3.1 percent.
The company also plows a considerable amount of its resources into research and development, maintaining a staff of 7,000 engineers and scientists, out of a total workforce of 15,000.
Harris' investment in technology innovation will continue to pay off for the company and its investors, this year and beyond.
John Persinos is managing director of Investing Daily and Personal Finance.
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