Loral Corp. Net Climbs 39%

Riding high on increased sales and greater profit margin, defense contractor Loral Corp. reported Tuesday that its net income rose to $40.6 million, or $1.05 a share, during the second quarter ended Sept. 30. This is 39% higher than the $29.1 million, or 93 cents a share, earned during the corresponding period last year.

Loral, which recently acquired the missile operation of the bankrupt LTV Corp., said revenue rose to $738.9 million from $700 million a year ago.

The company’s missile production division in Newport Beach, Loral Aeronutronic, has 1,700 employees. The earnings of this division are consolidated under Space Systems/Loral, which reported sales of $128 million, bookings of $153 million and a backlog at the end of the quarter of $848 million. During the quarter, Space Systems/Loral was awarded its eighth Intelsat VII satellite contract, worth $140 million.

For the six-month period, Loral reported net income of $69.7 million, or $1.91 a share, compared to $51.5 million, or $1.76 a share. Revenue was $1.42 billion, up from $1.38 billion a year ago.