General Dynamics Reports Sharp Increase in Profit

General Dynamics Corp. reported their first-quarter profit increased 11 percent, helped by a strong demand for its Army vehicles and Gulfstream business jets. This No. 4 Pentagon supplier is one of the companies benefiting most from record levels of U.S. defense spending, in part by making Abrams tanks and Stryker fighting vehicles for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Falls Church, Virginia-based company said revenue rose 16 percent to $5.6 billion or quarterly profit of $374 million, up from $336 million a year earlier, adjusted for a stock split. General Dynamics, along with rivals Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing, have all seen their stocks rise sharply in the past six months, as widely anticipated defense spending cuts have not materialized.
General Dynamics also reported higher sales of combat vehicles and a wide range of electronics used by the U.S. military for communications, computing, intelligence and reconnaissance operations. Their Gulfstream division delivered 25 business jets in the quarter, up from 20 a year earlier.