Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) reported at the end of November that it played a role in a successful missile intercept test in the Pacific Ocean northwest of Hawaii.
It was part of an eventful autumn for the San Diego-based defense contractor, one that saw the business welcome two new directors and announce third quarter financial results.
The Oct. 25 missile test involved a complex scenario: it demonstrated the capability of a ballistic missile defense-configured Aegis ship to detect, track, engage and execute intercepts of two short range ballistic missile (SRBM) targets. At the same time, it demonstrated an anti-air warfare engagement of two subsonic anti-ship cruise missile drone targets, provided by Kratos.
The ship was the USS Carl M. Levin, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer based in Pearl Harbor. Commissioned in June, it is one of the Navy’s newest ships.
The Navy said that the live-fire, raid scenario represented one of the largest integrated air and missile defense events ever conducted in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility. It demonstrated for the first time a concurrent ballistic missile defense and anti-air warfare raid.
Kratos said that the successful intercepts were the culmination of a four-week campaign during which the Kratos Defense & Rocket Systems business, along with government and industry partners, integrated and launched the two SRBM targets from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii.
Two Standard Missile 3 Block IAs were fired at the SRBM targets, successfully intercepting them.
Kratos released details about the event, which also involved the Missile Defense Agency, on Nov. 27.
Boardroom Shift
The business also announced changes to its board of directors, appointing retired U.S. Army Col. Brad Boyd and recently retired long-time equity fund portfolio manager Dan Hagen to its board, effective Nov. 1. Also on Nov. 1, Kratos announced the retirements of board members Samuel Liberatore and Jane Judd.
In other news, Kratos announced its financial results for the third quarter. The business essentially broke even, reporting a net loss of $1.6 million, or a penny a share, on revenue of $274.6 million.
In the same quarter one year ago, Kratos reported a net loss of $8 million, or 6 cents per share, on revenue of $228.6 million.
Kratos said that during the current, fourth quarter, it expects revenue in the range of $237 million and $257 million. Total annual revenue is expected to be between $1 billion and $1.02 billion.
Shares of Kratos closed Nov. 28 at $19.38, near their 52-week high of $19.72. The stock’s 52-week low was $8.90.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc.
FOUNDED: 1994 as Wireless Facilities Inc.
CEO: Eric DeMarco
HEADQUARTERS: Scripps Ranch
BUSINESS: Defense contractor
REVENUE: $898.3 million in 2022
STOCK: KTOS (NASDAQ)
EMPLOYEES: 72 in San Diego; approximately 3,600 in total
WEBSITE: www.kratosdefense.com
CONTACT: 858-812-7300
NOTABLE: The Department of Defense completed an initial flight test of a Kratos-built unmanned aircraft – the U.S. Marine Corps’ XQ-58A Valkyrie – in early October at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
