[Satellite Today 04-23-09] Lockheed Martin’s net earnings fell 9 percent to $666 million from $730 million in the same quarter last year according to its first quarter 2009 financial report, released April 22.
    Despite the drop in earning, the company’s net sales rose 4 percent to $10.4 billion, but still fell short of the $10.5 billion expected by analysts. Lockheed Martin said that a pension accounting adjustment had resulted in an expense of $114 million, which decreased net earnings by $74 million and still expects pension expenses of about $460 million to have an affect on earnings for this year.
    The company said its Space Systems segment has seen growth, building on its manufacturing of GPS satellites. With the award of the next-generation U.S. Air Force GPS-3 satellite constellation, Lockheed Martin said it is well positioned to continue growth for the segment in 2009.