The No. 4 U.S. defense contractor, which makes Abrams tanks and Gulfstream aircraft, reported net profit of $572 million, or $1.43 per share, up from $434 million or $1.07 per share.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Dynamics Corp <GD.N> said on Wednesday first-quarter profit rose, helped by sales in combat systems, marine systems and the aerospace segment.
The No. 4 U.S. defense contractor, which makes Abrams tanks and Gulfstream aircraft, reported net profit of $572 million, or $1.43 per share, up from $434 million or $1.07 per share.
Earnings from continuing operations were $1.42 a share, which beat Wall Street's average forecast of $1.30 per share. Revenue rose 11.2 percent to $7 billion.
General Dynamics was buoyed in the quarter by continuing strong sales of its Gulfstream business jets, which are benefiting from the longest civil aerospace boom on record, and demand for its armored vehicles by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Sales at its aerospace unit rose 17 percent to $1.28 billion, while its combat systems unit's sales rose 27 percent to just below $2 billion.
(Reporting by Nick Zieminski and Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
