EMS Technologies, the Norcross wireless and satellite communications company, said Wednesday it plans to expand its headquarters and lease additional space on the back of continued growth in its defense and space systems division.

The company announced that it won a $13 million contract to work on a new satellite communications system for the Air Force's B-2 bomber, part of $20 million in work the company expects to receive on the project this year. The contract calls for the company to develop a prototype antenna that allows bomber crews to more rapidly send and receive battlefield information.

The company's defense and space systems division already has a $74 million backlog of orders and plans to hire 48 more employees to accommodate the work, spokeswoman Anne Wainscott-Sargent said.

The division nearly doubled its operating profit in 2007, the company said in a statement, leading to the hiring of 120 people during the year. The company now employs about 1,000 around the world.

The company expects to hire a general contractor to begin work on a 34,000-square-foot addition to its headquarters campus within 60 days and has already signed a lease for office space a quarter-mile from its campus to house engineers and other technical workers in the defense and space systems division.

EMS also released quarterly earnings on Wednesday. The report for the first three months of 2008 showed earnings of $4.2 million, or 26 cents a share, on revenue of $75.5 million.

The company earned $2.9 million, or 19 cents a share, on $66.6 million in revenue in the first three months of 2007.

The company credited the strong growth in its defense and space systems division for the performance, and said demand for improved satellite communications in the defense and global business sectors should remain strong in 2008.

The company also said business trends for its SATCOM division —- which makes antennas that can enable cellular and data communications aboard aircraft —- look good with the expectation that the European Union will allow air travelers to use cellphones within the EU's territory.