Never mind the debates raging in town-hall meetings and in Washington, federal health care programs have proved to be good news for communications and information-technology systems manufacturer Harris Corp. The Melbourne, Fla.-based supplier to government and commercial customers recently expanded its health care IT offerings when Harris reported on Nov. 16 it had acquired Department of Veterans Affairs provider Patriot Technologies LLC.
Based in King of Prussia, Pa., Patriot provides federal health care information systems integration and imaging and digital content management solutions that support federal health architecture for the Defense Department and Health and Human Services.
Harris expects the move will expand its position in the growing $3.4 billion federal government health care IT market. The move will allow the company to provide comprehensive interoperability solutions that address the national priority of VA and military health system enterprise integration, the company said in a statement.
"Patriot's VA credentials, relationships and health care IT expertise are strong additions to our federal health care solutions initiatives," said Howard Lance, chairman, president and CEO of Harris, when the deal was announced. "With this acquisition, Harris is well-positioned for a lead role in VA health care information technology and broader federal health care integration."
Patriot has about 100 employees working at its headquarters and operations in the Washington, D.C., area.
At A Glance Harris Corp. Melbourne, Fla. Primary Industry: Communications Equipment Number of Employees: 15,400 2008 In Review Revenue: $5 billion Profit Margin: 8.36% Sales Turnover: 1.17 Inventory Turnover: 6.31 Revenue Growth: 25.17% Return On Assets: 10.08% Return On Equity: 23.33% |
Under the contract, Harris will provide IT help-desk support, install and upgrade C4S services, telecommunications, information assurance/computer network defense and circuit management and microwave communications systems, including power production at remote microwave sites.
Profit for Harris, which reported its first-quarter results on Oct. 27, fell 13% to $105 million, or 79 cents per share, compared with the prior-year quarter. Revenue was up slightly at $1.20 billion, compared with $1.17 billion in the year-earlier period.
The company attributed the lower earnings to order delays from the Defense Department and Iraq ministry of defense in the tactical radio business.
Lance said he expects the company to rebound from the delays in the months ahead.
"We have significantly increased our full-year fiscal 2010 guidance to reflect much higher-than-expected tactical radio orders from the U.S. Department of Defense and the positive impact on expected revenue and earnings," he said.
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