Lockheed Martin reported success in its strategic efforts to “expand our footprint overseas” in a conference call discussing its third quarter earnings report with reporters Tuesday. CEO Marillyn Hewson said international demand is “growing faster than the DOD budget” and currently makes up 30 percent of the company’s total annual sales. She said that France and Germany are interested in buying more C-130Js, Poland is interested in a helicopter program, and allies in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East are buying missile defense systems. The company’s international sales in 2015 totaled $9.6 billion. By way of contrast, she warned that the US continuing resolution to fund the federal government, which freezes spending at previous-year levels, would certainly have “some level of impact” on Lockheed Martin sales. While she said this impact would be “minimal” as long as a budget deal was achieved by the end of December, Hewson expressed concern about uncertainty over the levels and sources of defense funding in the various congressional budget proposals.
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.