The State October 20, 2007
Force Protection rises, but falls
Armored vehicle maker wins $376.6 million order, but stocks plunge
By Noelle Phillips
Force Protection received a $376.6 million order for armored vehicles on Friday, but the contract didn’t stop the company’s stock from taking another plunge.
The drop could be the result of another armored vehicle maker taking home a bigger contract, causing financial analysts to fear Ladson-based Force Protection is losing dominance in the market.
The company’s stock prices already took a hit this week after the company disclosed weaknesses in its accounting practices.
Force Protection shares fell 11 percent Friday to $19.97.
Tommy Pruitt, a Force Protection spokesman, said he had no explanation for Friday’s drop.
“I won’t even attempt to explain that. It defies logic.”
Under the latest Department of Defense contract, Force Protection will build 800 of its armored vehicles for the military’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle program. The vehicles must be finished by April.
Force Protection will divide its work with partner General Dynamics. They teamed up as Force Dynamics to build the MRAPs and split profits.
Force Protection’s contract was one of three announced Friday by the defense department. The largest order went to Illinois-based International Military and Government, a subsidiary of Navistar, for 1,000 armored trucks for $509.2 million. The third company to receive an order was BAE Systems, of York, Pa., which will be paid $278.4 million for 511.
The military has kicked its MRAP program into high gear as it hurries to field the armored vehicles in Iraq. The MRAP trucks are made to withstand blasts from roadside bombs and land mines. Thus far, the military has ordered 8,800 vehicles and has plans to buy an additional 6,400 in December.
Pruitt said Friday’s order indicates the company is still in the hunt to win more contracts. When the Marine Corps invited companies to bid on the MRAP program this spring, nine companies were in the running.
“The playing field has been leveled down to these three players,” Pruitt said. “It has to do with the quality of these vehicles and the ability to manufacture” them.
Earlier this year, Force Protection was under scrutiny as critics questioned whether the company could meet military demand. But Pruitt said the orders prove the company is keeping up.
Analyst John Pike, of GlobalSecurity.org, said the military eventually will decide on one company to build the trucks. So far, the Marines are buying the MRAP vehicles, but the Army wants to buy them, too.
The Army will want to reduce the number of MRAP makers so it can streamline its parts supply chain, Pike said.
“The belief from the beginning was they’d buy a small number from anybody, but as the program matures it will be narrowed down,” Pike said. “I don’t really have the sense that they’re doing that yet.”
Pike says Force Protection has a shot at competing with bigger defense contractors to win more MRAP deals. He cited General Atomics’ Predator unmanned spy plane as an example of a company developing a better product than its bigger competitors.
“You do have examples where small companies are able to successfully compete.”
© Copyright 2007, The State, Columbia, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
