The group enjoyed a surge in government contracts.

Raytheon reported a net profit of 95 million dollars or 23 cents a share in the quarter.

The group recovered from a year-earlier loss of 583 million dollars or 1.44 dollars a share, caused by losses on the sale of Aircraft Integration Systems and a writeoff at Raytheon Aircraft.

Sales rose 7.4 percent to 4.20 billion dollars.

Government and defense businesses sales leapt 12 percent to 3.8 billion dollars.

"Our strong government and defense bookings, sales, and record backlog demonstrate that we are executing well and maintaining our focus on customer satisfaction," said Raytheon chief executive and chairman Daniel Burnham.

"During the quarter, we completed the acquisition of Solipsys Corporation, enhancing our ability to grow our defense business and provide integrated solutions to our customers," Burnham said in a statement.

"I am also pleased that Raytheon Aircraft has continued to meet its commitments despite the difficult market, which is a direct result of proactive measures taken by the management team."

The company ended the quarter with backlog of 26.7 billion dollars, up from 25.7 billion dollars a year earlier.

SPACE.WIRE