General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) today reported first-quarter 2021 net earnings of $708 million on revenue of $9.4 billion. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $2.48.
Revenue grew year-over-year by 7.3% company-wide, with growth in all four segments and growth exceeding 10% in the Aerospace and Marine Systems segments. Company-wide operating margin for the quarter was 10%. Orders remained strong, with backlog up 4.5% from the year-ago quarter to a record $89.6 billion.
"Continued recovery from the pandemic coupled with our focus on operating performance yielded a strong quarter, with year-over-year earnings growth driven by increased revenue across all of our four business segments," said Phebe N. Novakovic, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our improved cash outlook enabled us to continue investing in future growth while returning capital to shareholders."
Cash
Net cash provided by operating activities in the quarter totaled $3 million, compared with a use of cash of $666 million in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow from operations, defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures, was a net outflow of $131 million. During the quarter, the company invested $134 million in capital expenditures, paid $315 million in dividends, and repurchased $744 million in shares at an average price of $161.38 per share, ending the quarter with $1.8 billion in cash and equivalents on hand.
BacklogTotal backlog at the end of first-quarter 2021 was $89.6 billion, up 4.5% from the year-ago quarter. Estimated potential contract value, representing management's estimate of value in unfunded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts and unexercised options, was $41.8 billion. Total estimated contract value, the sum of all backlog components, was $131.4 billion at the end of the quarter.
Order activity was strong across the company, with a total book-to-bill ratio (orders divided by revenue) of 1-to-1 for the quarter. Orders rose faster than revenue in the Aerospace and Technologies segments, with book-to-bill ratios for the quarter of 1.3-to-1 and 1.1-to1, respectively.
Significant awards in the quarter included a contract with a maximum potential value of $12.6 billion among multiple awardees to provide information technology (IT) and technical support services to intelligence agencies under the Solutions for the Information Technology Enterprise (SITE) III program; $1.9 billion from the U.S. Navy for the construction of a 10th Block V Virginia-class submarine; a contract with a maximum potential value of $805 million among multiple awardees to provide ship modernization services to the Navy; $295 million from the U.S. Army for various munitions and ordnance; $225 million from the Army for inventory management and support services for its Stryker vehicle fleet; $200 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide Coronavirus (COVID-19)-related contact-center operations and support services; $190 million in contracts from the Army for technical support and upgrades for Abrams main battle tanks; and $175 million from the Army for computing and communications equipment under the Common Hardware Systems-5 (CHS-5) program.
About General Dynamics
Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, General Dynamics is a global aerospace and defense company that offers a broad portfolio of products and services in business aviation; ship construction and repair; land combat vehicles, weapons systems and munitions; and technology products and services. General Dynamics employs more than 100,000 people worldwide and generated $37.9 billion in revenue in 2020. More information is available at www.gd.com.
