Oshkosh turns profit in the fiscal 3rd-quarter on soaring sales for defense vehicles and parts

Oshkosh 3Q profit soars on defense unit sales

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Specialty vehicle maker Oshkosh Corp. said Monday it turned a profit in the fiscal third-quarter due to soaring sales for defense vehicles and parts.

The results beat Wall Street estimates, and its shares climbed $1.67, or 4.9 percent, to $36.05 in morning trading Monday.

The company reported net income of $211.2 million, or $2.31 per share, in the three months ended June 30 compared with a loss of $26.6 million, or 36 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue nearly doubled to $2.44 billion from $1.22 billion a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.92 per share on revenue of $2.3 billion.

Defense segment sales soared to $1.7 billion from $605.4 million in the same period a year ago. Nearly all of that increase — $1.08 billion — was through the company’s M-ATV contract, including related aftermarket parts & service sales. The M-ATV is a mine resistant armored fighting vehicle.

Because the company will complete most of its M-ATV shipments in the current fiscal year that ends in September, it doesn’t expect to reach the same defense segment revenue in the next fiscal year. But it still sees its defense segment providing “a solid foundation to what we anticipate will be a gradual economic recovery.”

It expects revenue will be higher in its other segments next year.