FALLS CHURCH (dpa-AFX) - General Dynamics Corp. (GD), an aerospace and defense company, Wednesday reported a rise in earnings for the first quarter, chiefly due to lower operating costs. Revenue, however, declined from last year. On the other hand, both earnings and revenue beat analysts' estimates.
For the first quarter, net earnings grew to $595 million or $1.71 per share, from $571 million or $1.62 per share a year ago.
On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson-Reuters estimated the company's earnings to be $1.64 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Operating costs and expenses decreased to $6.453 billion from $6.557 billion a year earlier.
Revenue, however, declined by 1.1 percent to $7.324 billion from $7.404 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts expected revenues of $7.20 billion.
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