UPDATE: Leidos Q3 Profit Beats Street View

Leidos Holdings LDOS reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. The Reston, Virginia-based company posted a quarterly profit of $34 million, or $0.46 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $3 million, or $0.04 per share. Its earnings from continuing operations came in at $0.51 per share, versus a loss of $0.10 per share. Excluding certain items, its earnings from continuing operations surged to $0.65 per share from $0.49 per share. Its revenue slipped 10% to $1.28 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.52 per share on revenue of $1.24 billion. The company's revenue in the national-security solutions segment dropped 10% to $906 million, while revenue in the health and engineering segment declined 8.1% to $373 million. New business bookings totaled $1.19 billion in the quarter. As of October 31, 2014, Leidos had $418 million in cash and cash equivalents and $1.2 billion in long-term debt. Roger Krone, Leidos Chief Executive Officer commented: "Our financial and operational performance in the third quarter of fiscal year 2015 was solid. We are particularly pleased with our double digit growth in earnings, increased margins, and strong cash flow from operations. As we continue to confront the challenges in the federal contracting market and the competitive landscape, we still have a lot of hard work ahead.” Leidos reaffirmed its fiscal year 2015 outlook. Leidos shares rose 0.75% to close at $40.18 yesterday.