Lockheed Martin gets Aviation Week award

FARNSBOROUGH, England, July 22 (UPI) -- U.S. company Lockheed Martin has been recognized by Aviation Week for the second consecutive year as a top performing aerospace and defense company.

Also recognized in the annual Top Performing Companies analysis were Precision Castparts, and FLIR Systems.

"In a year when fears of a financial meltdown gripped the world, the global aerospace and defense industry held its own," said Aviation Week Senior Business Editor Joseph C. Anselmo. "The results of the TPC study reveal an industry that, at the operational level, was much better prepared for the storm than in past downturns. With a few exceptions -- most notably the business jet sector -- it was the crash that never came."

The magazine found the Lockheed Martin, ranked No. 1 in the "Revenue Greater Than $20 Billion" group, has strong performances in return on invested capital and asset management.

In the $5 billion-$20 billion category, Precision Castparts was able to raise its operating margins to nearly 26 percent despite a 17 percent sales decline, while in the $1 billion-$5 billion category, FLIR Systems hasn't been hampered by its rapid growth. FLIR's revenue growth slowed to 6 percent after a 38 percent burst the prior year but operating earnings were up 22 percent, Aviation Week said.