Lockheed, Honeywell boost dividends as Ukraine war continues
NewsOctober 03, 2022
As defense budgets swell among Western governments while the war in Ukraine rages on, major defense contractors are seeing profits surge, with two of them just announcing increases in their dividends.
Lockheed Martin announced late Friday that their board of directors had authorized a boost of the dividend from $2.80 to $3.00 per share for the fourth quarter of 2022.
The company makes the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which is in high demand in Ukraine -- the United States reportedly shipped 16 HIMARS systems as part of a $9 billion security assistance package. And a new $1.1 billion security assistance package last month would more than double that figure, providing Ukraine with another 18 HIMARS systems.
"The HIMARS can fire up to six rockets or one missile within a few seconds," according to a U.S. Marine Corps statement. "These rockets have seekers that lock onto an objective and can follow its movement using GPS or infrared sensors - increasing its capability to locate and destroy the targeted enemy."
Defense contractor Honeywell also announced an increase in the dividend for the fourth quarter of 2022, boosting it from $3.92 to $4.12 per share.
Darius Adamczyk, Honeywell CEO, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on March 4 shortly after the invasion that while Honeywell's presence in Ukraine is very small, he expected the war to provide an overall boost in profits in the defense segment.
"We think that some of our defense and space business could benefit," he said.
But there are indications the company may benefit on the civilian side as well. Honeywell announced in July that they had joined forces with DTEK, Ukraine's largest private-sector energy company, to launch Honeywell's Experion Energy Program in Ukraine. The company described it as a core element of a DTEK initiative to develop the country's first grid-scale energy storage system.
