Government IT Contracts Help Boost SAIC Earnings

By Jennifer Freer, Staff Writer




SEPT. 25 ? Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, an employee-owned research and engineering company, reported strong second quarter earnings boosted by state and federal government contracts.



Revenue for the second quarter, ending July 31, was $1.5 billion, which is a 12 percent increase over the same period last year.



SAIC's earnings for the second quarter were $1.6 billion, which includes an after-tax gain of $1.5 billion from the sale of the company's shares in Network Solutions Inc. to VeriSign Inc. Excluding the gain, SAIC saw earnings of $84 million compared to $63 million last year.



On June 8, NSI merged with VeriSign to become a wholly owned subsidiary. NSI was partially owned by SAIC Venture Capital Corp. before the merger.



The company received a lift from several large federal contracts awarded during the second quarter. The company led a team selected for the Defense Information Systems Agency contract to provide information assurance capabilities for the Defense Department.


The contract is worth $1.5 billion over a three-year period with four one-year options.



The company also won the Engineering, Analysis, Design and Development II contract to procure systems engineering and integration for space development and fighting wars. The $496 million contract from the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center is for five years.



SAIC and its teammates won a $225 million Treasury Information Processing Support Services-2 contract to provide information systems support to the Treasury Department.



Also during the second quarter, SAIC bought Comarco Systems assets, which were integrated into a new SAIC business unit called Logistics Technology Operation. This unit supports Defense Department clients in rapid response integration and analysis efforts.



In the state and local arena, SAIC won a contract to implement eMaryland Marketplace, an interactive procurement system for state agencies local governments that allows buyers to conduct business transactions with vendors over the Internet.