PARIS — Lockheed Martin on Jan. 24 said its Space Systems division posted a drop in revenue and operating profit in the last three months of 2012 following decreased military satellite program work, but a slight increase in sales and stable profit for the year as a whole.
Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed also announced the retirement of Space Systems Executive Vice President Joanne Maguire, and her replacement by Rick F. Ambrose, currently the division’s vice president.
For the three months ending Dec. 31, Lockheed Martin Space Systems reported revenue of $2 billion, down 5.8 percent from the same period a year ago. Operating profit, at $232 million, was down 19 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Lockheed Martin said the drop in revenue and profit followed lower revenue from military satellite programs, notably the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) for missile-launch detection, and the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) for low-bandwidth mobile communications.
For the full year, Space Systems reported $8.35 billion in revenue, up 2.3 percent from 2011, and $1.08 billion in operating profit, which was an increase of 1.8 percent. The full-year operating-profit margin was unchanged from 2011 at about 13 percent.
The company said the $105 million drop in SBIRS and MUOS revenue was offset by a $150 million increase in revenue from commercial satellite sales in 2012 compared with 2011. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., delivered two commercial telecommunications satellites in 2012, compared with just one in 2011.
Revenue in 2012 from Lockheed Martin’s work on NASA’s Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle increased by $150 million as that vehicle is prepared for its first uncrewed demonstration flight in 2014. Increased work on U.S. strategic and defensive missiles, which is included in the company’s Space Systems division, accounted for $70 million in additional revenue in 2012.
The company’s revenue from NASA’s space shuttle external tank declined by $55 million in 2012 as the program approaches complete shutdown following the shuttle’s July 2011 retirement.
