Charge, govt spending cuts hammer Gen Dynamics results

Its shares recovered a bit after falling nearly 5 percent in early trading on Wednesday.

The company, which builds warships, ground combat vehicles and business jets, reported a quarterly loss from continuing operations of $2.1 billion, or $6.07 per share. The company said the loss was mainly due to a $2 billion noncash charge in its information systems business, reflecting lower U.S. defense spending. It posted a profit of $603 million in the year-earlier period.

On an adjusted basis, earnings per share dropped to $1.39, down from $1.68 in the year-earlier period.

General Dynamics also took $867 million in other charges, including $301 million in its aerospace and information systems businesses, in the quarter, the company said.

Revenue declined nearly 12 percent in the quarter, dropping to $8.08 billion from $9.15 billion, and missing analysts' forecasts of $8.8 billion. Three of the company's four divisions reported lower revenue in the fourth quarter, and the aerospace division saw a sales increase of only a 0.2 percent.

For full-year 2012, the company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $332 million, a huge swing from a profit of $2.55 billion a year earlier. That resulted in a net loss per share of 94 cents, down from a net profit per share of $6.94 in 2011.

Adjusted for the charge, full-year earnings were $2.3 billion, or

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