KMB, EMC, GR, NOC, LLL earnings

KMB +6.13%
Higher selling prices and lower commodity prices lifted Kimberly’s second-quarter results above projections. The maker of Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissue raised its earnings and revenue forecasts to reflect lower commodity prices, stronger organic growth, and cost savings from job cuts.


EMC +4.09%
The biggest takeaway from EMC’s report was that the company offered guidance for the first time amid the downturn, offering a sign that the tech market is at least returning to more predictable conditions. Management said that IT budgets for EMC’s customers “firmed up quite a bit,” and they now have “better visibility and more confidence in the second half of 2009.”


GR -7.03%
Goodrich, the largest maker of aircraft landing gear, saw profit drop 5.1% and sales slump 8% on weaker demand for spare parts as airlines pared flights and routes in the recession. Aftermarket aircraft parts fell 16%, but the firm expects aftermarket sales to be higher in the third and fourth quarters of 2009. This expectation as well as strength in the defense and space unit led Goodrich to raise the lower end of its full-year forecast, which the firm has reduced twice this year.


NOC -1.85%
Defense company Northrop Grumman (NOC) reported second-quarter profit slipped 20% on pension-related expenses and an adjustment to shipbuilding costs. Revenue increased 3.8% to $8.96 billion, with revenue growth across all business segments except shipbuilding. The aerospace segment led the underlying units, posting 8% sales growth on higher volumes for manned and unmanned aircraft programs. Total backlog fell 8.5% sequentially to $70.4 billion on the termination of the U.S. government’s Kinetic Energy Interceptor program.


LLL +2.82%
Defense contractor L-3’s profit dropped 18%, but still beat expectations and the company raised its full-year forecast. Total revenue increased 6% thanks to increased demand and new business for airborne manned and unmanned platforms. Higher pension expenses contributed to a drop in operating income.
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Peter J. Lazaroff