spacetoday.net: Orbital announces 1st quarter profit, to sell unit

Posted: Fri, Apr 18, 2008, 6:31 AM ET (1031 GMT)
Orbital Sciences Corporation announced increased revenues and profits in its fiscal first quarter on Thursday, and also said it would sell a non-core business unit. Orbital reported revenues of $296 million and net income of $13.7 million in the first quarter of 2008, compared to $228.2 million in revenue and $11.5 million in net income for the same quarter of 2007. The company credited increased activity on advanced space programs, including its work on NASA's Orion spacecraft, and increased launch vehicle activity for the increase in revenue and income. The company said Thursday that it anticipated more business down the road for its medium-class Taurus 2 rocket under development. The company will decide in a month whether it will carry out Taurus 2 launches from Cape Canaveral in Florida or the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia. Orbital also announced Thursday that it was selling its transportation management systems business to ACS for $42.5 million in cash, The deal is expected to close by summer.