By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Raytheon Co (N:RTN) posted higher-than-expected earnings and revenues for the second quarter, aided by strong international bookings and the favorable impact of a tax settlement, and the U.S. weapons maker lifted its revenue target for the full year.
Raytheon, maker of the Patriot missile system, reported net earnings of $504 million from continuing operations, or $1.65 per share, up from $499 million and $1.59 per share a year earlier. Revenues rose 3 percent to $5.8 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had forecast earnings of $488 million or $1.62 per share and revenues of $5.48 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Toby O'Brien told Reuters that international orders comprised 44 percent of the company's backlog at the end of the second quarter, a record high, and should stay near that level for the full year.
O'Brien said about 46 percent of bookings in the quarter came from international customers, including Saudi Arabia with a $2 billion order for the Patriot missile defense system.
International orders would likely slow in the second half, accounting for about 32 percent to 35 percent of total bookings for the full year, he said.
Raytheon said it now expected $22.7 billion to $23.2 billion in revenues for the full year, up from its earlier forecast of $22.3 billion to $22.8 billion.
The company lowered its outlook for earnings per share to a range of $6.47 to $6.62, from $6.67 to $6.82, to reflect about $0.25 in dilutive effect from the Websense acquisition. Excluding the acquisition, the company expected earnings per share to rise about $0.05, O'Brien said.
O'Brien said Raytheon remained upbeat about its acquisition of the cybersecurity firm, despite Lockheed Martin Corp's (N:LMT) announcement this week that it may sell or spin off its commercial cyber unit and other services businesses.
"We're still excited about that acquisition. The threats that companies face continue to grow," he said, noting the firm gave Raytheon the scale needed to gain access to that market.
O'Brien declined to comment directly on Lockheed's strategic review, or the company's interest in potentially acquiring any of its services or commercial cyber businesses.
He said Raytheon had focused on the high-end services market serving the U.S. military and intelligence communities, which offered a 30-percent or higher return on invested capital. The company continued to invest in new data analytics tools and expected margins of 8 percent or higher in the longer term.
