Lockheed is 'looking for opportunities' in mergers and acquisitions

(Editor's Note: This has been corrected to indicate Lockheed Martin Chief Financial Officer Ken Possenriede spoke about the company's space business.)

Lockheed Martin's new chief executive said today the company is seeking acquisitions that could help it offer new technologies more quickly.

In a call with analysts, Jim Taiclet said the company is "looking for opportunities" in the mergers and acquisitions space.

"We plan to be active, but we also plan to be very, very prudent," he said.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin said today sales in its most recent quarter totaled $16.5 billion, up almost 9% from the same three-month period a year earlier.

The contractor's quarterly profit hit $1.7 billion, up close to 6% from the prior year.

Lockheed reported sales growth in all four of its business units. The only unit not to generate profit growth was its space business.

Ken Possenriede, Lockheed's chief financial officer, said the main driver of lower profits in the space business was a slip in a United Launch Alliance launch.

Asked whether ULA -- a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed -- sees SpaceX as a threat, Possenriede said the company is "more than an emerging threat right now."

But in recent competitions, he continued, "we've actually been pleased with the outcomes of where ULA landed."

"Going forward, we're confident that we certainly have the mission capabilities, but we also think we now have a price point that is compelling to customers that will allow ULA to get its faire share of awards over SpaceX," Possenriede added.