CACI sees 1Q growth

Government contractor CACI International Inc. may be recovering from the public relations hit that it took for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, according to its chief executive officer.

The company this week reported that its fiscal first quarter revenue increased 65 percent year-over-year, while operating income rose 73 percent. The company's first quarter ended Sept. 30.

Revenue for the quarter grew to $388.7 million from $235.7 million a year earlier. Operating income rose $35.6 million from from $20.6 million.

J.P. "Jack" London, the company's CEO, president and chairman, cited several growth drivers for the company: systems integration; engineering services; network services and knowledge management offerings; and a continued focus on defense and intelligence work.

London described it as "a nice strong quarter, a little ahead of what we had expected. All of the issues and areas we're supporting for the government and the American people is the stuff that you see above the fold in the paper every day."

CACI got caught up in the Iraq prison scandal this past summer because company officials accepted work on a contract intended for information technology services but ended up providing interrogators. London said the company has been examined top to bottom, and is moving past the issue.

"I never know what's coming in tomorrow, but it's been fading rapidly," he said. "There's an event here and there that's going to pop up, there are a couple of lawsuits, but we examined and investigated that thing nine ways from Sunday. We were investigated by every investigative body in town, and I'd say we stood up under that scrutiny. There are companies that could not have stood up under the wire brushing we got."