NEW YORK (Reuters) - Defense contractor General Dynamics Corp reported a 16 percent rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by strong sales of military ships and business jets.
The U.S. No. 4 defense contractor, which makes Abrams tanks and Gulfstream aircraft, has been buoyed by demand for its armored vehicles by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and boom in private aircraft sales.
General Dynamics, based in Falls Church, Virginia, posted a quarterly profit of $634 million, or $1.59 per share, compared with $546 million, or $1.34 per share, a year earlier.
That beat analysts' average profit forecast of $1.51 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue rose 4.5 percent to $7.1 billion.
(Reporting by Bill Rigby and Mark McSherry; Editing by Derek Caney)
