By Mike Stone
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lockheed Martin Corp told Wall Street analysts on Monday that its fifth-generation F-35A fighter jets could be more expensive in the future due to inflation and increased customer performance requirements.
Lockheed raised its full-year earnings per share guidance as the U.S. weapons supplier’s space business boosted revenue, while a $225 million loss in a classified aeronautics development program caused the company to miss analyst’s earning per share estimates.
Kenneth Possenriede, Lockheed’s CFO, told analysts in a conference call that “due to where we are in learning, due to where we are with inflation and due to where we are with the added capabilities that they want on the aircraft, it is likely you’ll see an increase in prices, a modest increase in prices of where we are today.”
An F-35A currently about $79 million.
The F-35 comes in three configurations, the A-model for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. allies; an F-35 B-model, which can handle short takeoffs and vertical landings; and carrier-variant F-35C jets for the U.S. Navy.
Possenriede said prices for the B and C variants would likely “either stay where it is or continue to come down the learning curve.”
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Dan Grebler)
