Textron Posts Surprise 3Q Profit, Still Sees Earnings For Year

Textron Inc.'s (TXT) third-quarter earnings fell 98% on as the defense contractor and aircraft maker unexpectedly averted a loss, while it said full-year earnings will come in at the top end of its July guidance.

The company, which makes Bell helicopters and Cessna jets, said adjusted 2009 earnings will be at the top end of its predicted range of 33 cents to 63 cents. Analysts expect a 6-cent loss.

As Textron saw defense contracts eliminated and business-jet orders slump, it headed off a liquidity crisis by liquidating more than $3 billion of lending assets and exited some lending business. It has also restructured its industrial businesses and laid off thousands of jobs, part of a planned 19% work-force reduction.

Textron posted a profit of $4 million, or a penny a share, compared with $206 million, or 83 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring charges, the latest quarter's earnings from continuing operations were 12 cents.

Revenue decreased 27% to $2.55 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted a 3-cent loss on revenue of $2.52 billion

Cessna's profit plunged 87% as revenue decreased 42%. During the first quarter, Textron sold the assets of CESCOM, Cessna's aircraft maintenance tracking service line.

Bell helicopter saw a 25% rise in profit as sales slid 11%. Textron Systems, the defense and intelligence segment, saw profit jump 25% as revenue slipped 11%.

Combined backlog fell 6.7%.

Shares in Textron, which affirmed its full-year revenue guidance, closed Monday at $18.36 and weren't active premarket. The stock, which has more than quintupled since an all-time low in March, is up one-third for 2009.

-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; [e-mail]