Harris Corp has posted a net loss of $156.4m in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to a net income of $121.7m in the same period in 2008, due to a series of charges. The results exceeded analyst’s expectations as orders rebound from the previous quarter.
The company said that the new orders booked in the fourth quarter were $1.29 billion. Excluding acquisitions, new orders in the quarter were $1.25 billion, an increase of 22% compared with the sequential third quarter, and flat compared with the prior-year fourth quarter.
For the quarter ended July 3, 2009, the company posted revenue of $1.29 billion, an increase of 4%, compared to $1.25 billion in the same period a year-ago. Loss from continuing operations was $84m or $.64 per diluted share, compared to income from continuing operations of $135m or $.99 per diluted share in the same period last year.
Revenue in the RF Communications segment was $468m, which includes $47m from the recently acquired M/A-COM business, compared with $441m in the prior-year quarter. Government communications Systems reported 10% increase in its revenue to $704m from $641m, while Broadcast Communications segment posted revenue of $130m, down 25% from $174m in the same period last year.
For the full-year of fiscal 2009, the company posted revenue of $5 billion, up 9%, compared with $4.6 billion in the prior year.
The results included pre-tax charges of $256m to write-down goodwill for assets in the Broadcast Communications segment and $10m for acquisition-related expenses.
Howard Lance, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said: We saw a nice sequential rebound in orders in the fourth quarter in each of the Harris operating segments – RF Communications, Government Communications Systems, and Broadcast Communications.
“In addition, our Government Communications Systems business was awarded two new long-term contracts in the fourth quarter with a combined potential value of $1.3 billion. The new contract wins, improving order rates, and a solid pipeline of additional opportunities provide us with increased confidence in our outlook for fiscal 2010.
