Department of Energy contractor Honeywell said Friday its first-quarter 2017 sales were almost equal to revenue from the same period one year ago, but both earnings per share and free cash flow spiked.
The industrial company brought in $9.49 billion in sales in its latest reporting period, down very slightly from $9.52 billion in the first quarter of 2016. Organic sales, though, were up by 2 percent.
“The difference between reported and organic sales is due to the impact of foreign currency translation, the 2016 spin-off of the former Resins and Chemicals business in Performance Materials and Technologies, and the 2016 divestiture of the Aerospace government services business, partially offset by acquisitions, primarily Intelligrated in Safety and Productivity Solutions,” according to Honeywell’s earnings report.
Across its business segments, sales in the aerospace branch (which houses Honeywell’s DOE work) were down by 4 percent; home and building technologies rose by 3 percent, performance and materials technologies dropped by 9 percent; and safety and productivity solutions climbed by 25 percent.
Overall, earnings per share jumped 10 percent on a year-over-year basis, from $1.56 to $1.71. Free cash flow skyrocketed from $125 million to $772 million.
A Honeywell subsidiary in December won the contract for management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories. It will officially take over at the nuclear weapons lab on May 1, meaning Sandia’s impact on the company’s bottom line should appear in the next earnings report.
Another Honeywell subsidiary, Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, manages the National Nuclear Security Administration’s National Security Campus in Kansas City, Mo., which produces non-nuclear components used in nuclear weapons. Honeywell is also one of the partners in Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the management and operations contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
There was no specific reference to Honeywell’s DOE operations in the company’s press release or quarterly earnings conference call Friday morning.
The National Nuclear Security Administration intends to award a sole-source contract for night vision goggles and accessories by Sept. 30, according to a special notice posted last week.
A small business set-aside acquisition is expected to procure binocular night vision device kits in support of the NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation, which oversees the transport of special nuclear materials across the United States.
Items to be procured include 350 of these kits, the BNVD-1531 binocular night vision device made by L3 Warrior Systems; G70 helmet mount systems manufactured by Wilcox Industries; and Hoplite night vision focusing covers – for fast target identification – made by Phokus Research Group.
The BNVD-1531 is designed to “prevent damage in a high light environment,” allowing users to wear the goggles for long period of time without experiencing eye strain, the notice said. The G70 is designed to make the goggles compatible with ballistic helmets, and the Hoplite Cover provides focusing and lens protection capabilities, it said.
“Our OST agents must be prepared to respond to the full range of potential threats under any conditions,” NNSA spokeswoman Amy Boyette said by email. “Like other elite tactical units, OST agents are equipped with night vision equipment so they are able to operate effectively day or night and no matter the environment.”
The intended award would include an option for the delivery of additional items over a five-year period. Other interested sources may also submit a capability statement, proposal, and quotation via FedConnect by April 26.
National Nuclear Security Administration officials on April 6 joined representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Moldova and the Moldovan government to mark the installation of a radiation detection system at the nation’s Chisinau International Airport.
“The system of 18 radiation portal monitors and associated communications systems will enhance efforts to prevent smuggling of dangerous radioactive materials across international borders,” the NNSA said in a press release Tuesday.
The agency said that over the past six years it has assisted in deployment of radiation detection systems at 22 points of entry on the country’s borders and at its main airport, along with providing the country with seven mobile radiation detection systems. The NNSA has trained more than 200 front-line officers in operating the gear.
The NNSA works to interdict weapon-usable nuclear and radioactive materials at points of entry worldwide through its Office of Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence. It has helped install thousands of fixed, mobile, and hand-held devices worldwide, completing the radiation detection system architecture in countries such as Russia and Bulgaria.
The technology has helped prevent nuclear smuggling attempts in Georgia and Moldova, with the Black Sea region in particular emerging as a transit corridor for such material.
The NNSA and the FBI together conducted an advanced radiation detection and investigative techniques training last month in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the NNSA said Wednesday in a blog post.
The training consisted of lectures and activities for 35 participants to develop the skills necessary to respond to nuclear and radioactive material smuggling events, the agency said. Participants included members of Kazakhstan’s Border Guard, the country’s Committee for National Security, its Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the Institute of Nuclear Physics.
The NNSA’s efforts to prevent the smuggling of weapon-usable nuclear material at national points of entry also include providing fixed, mobile, and hand-held radiation detection devices worldwide.
