Harris exploring 'the possible sale of our night vision business'

Harris said today that as part of the regulatory process involved in finalizing its planned merger with L3 Technologies, it's "moving proactively" to consider the potential sale of its night vision business.

Earlier this month, Harris said the Justice Department had requested additional information about the planned transaction.

Bill Brown, Harris' chief executive, told analysts today "integration planning is progressing well."

He said about 50 representatives from both companies are working to develop detailed plans and that he and Chris Kubasik, L3's chief executive, are "deeply involved."

The two "have weekly meetings with the team," Brown said. "We both have spent considerable time meeting and getting to know each other's leadership team."

He said the deal is "on or ahead of schedule," noting it's planned to close in mid-2019.

Meanwhile, Harris said today sales in its most recent quarter were just shy of $1.7 billion, up 9 percent from the same three-month period a year earlier.

The company's quarterly earnings reached $225 million, up 72 percent from the prior year.

Harris reported improved sales and profit in all three of its operating groups.

The company's space and intelligence systems business reported the strongest sales growth, recording an 11 percent boost.

Harris attributed the sales increase to "double-digit growth from classified programs, driven by small satellites, exquisite systems and ground-based adjacencies."