Raytheon, the US defence contractor, reported strong third-quarter earnings and made confident forecasts for growth in 2010, shrugging off concerns about slowing government spending.

Next year, the company expects sales to grow by up to 6 per cent to as much as $26.4bn while full-year adjusted earnings per share could increase by up to 13 per cent to as much as $4.90 per share, just shy of analyst estimates.