Much of American industry is hurting right now, but defense contractor Raytheon has been able to avoid the economic recession with its success in two key missile defense projects:

Raytheon Co. said first-quarter profit rose 14 percent on increased sales from air-and-missile- defense systems and training programs. Profit for the full year will exceed the company’s earlier forecast.

Net income beat analysts’ estimates, climbing to $452 million, or $1.12 a share, from $398 million, or 92 cents, a year earlier, Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon said in a statement today. Sales increased 9.9 percent to $5.88 billion.

Raytheon builds the Standard Missile 2 and makes the radar for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates intends to increase funding for both as he plans other missile-defense cuts. The systems have received more attention following an April 5 rocket launch by North Korea in defiance of a United Nations resolution.

“Operating profits came in 6 percent higher than our forecast, with Missile Systems and Network Centric Systems posting better than expected margins,” Rob Stallard, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Inc. in New York, said in a report to clients today. He rates the shares “outperform” and doesn’t own any. “A solid start to 2009 from Raytheon, and the company blew past conservative expectations.”  [Bloomberg]