WASHINGTON — The Iraq war helped bring record earnings to St. Louis-based defense contractor Engineered Support Systems (ESSI) , and new financial data show the company's war-related profits have trickled down to a familiar family name: Bush.

William H.T. "Bucky" Bush, uncle of the president and youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush, cashed in on ESSI stock options last month with a net value of more than $450,000.

"Uncle Bucky," as he is known to the president, is on the board of the company that supplies armor and other material to U.S. troops.

The company's stock has soared to record heights since just before the Iraq invasion, benefiting in part from contracts to rapidly refit military vehicles with extra armor.

William Bush exercised options on 8,438 shares Jan. 18, according to reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He acknowledged in an interview that the transaction was worth just over $450,000.

In an earnings report issued yesterday, the company disclosed profit for the first quarter ended Jan. 31 reached a record $20.6 million, while quarterly sales hit $233.5 million, up 20 percent from a year ago.

As a result, the company boosted its projected annual revenues to a range of $990 million to $1 billion.

William Bush, 66, a one-time St. Louis bank executive and head of an investment firm, joined the ESSI board in 2000, eight months before his nephew won the White House.

He said in an interview that he never used his family connections to help the company win contracts.

He also said he had sought legal advice before accepting appointment to the board to be certain there would be no problems.

Some of the company's Defense Department work has included no-bid, sole-source contracts, including a $48.8 million deal to refurbish military trailers.

Other Iraq-related contracts won by the company include an $18 million pact awarded early last year under which a Maryland subsidiary was picked to provide communications support to the Coalition Provisional Authority; and a $19 million deal to provide the Army with shelters to protect against chemical or biological attack.

Other company contracts have raised questions.

Last week, Defense Department officials disclosed that ESSI contracts issued in 2002 with a cumulative value of $158 million have been referred to the Pentagon inspector general's office for investigation.

The contracts were supervised by a former Defense Department official sentenced to prison for improperly aiding another contractor: Boeing.

Acting Undersecretary Michael Wynne said he had referred the contracts "that appear to have anomalies in them." He would not elaborate.

In a briefing with stock analysts yesterday, Gerald Potthoff, ESSI president, downplayed the significance of the inquiry, saying the company contracts were under review simply because they were awarded on a sole-source basis.

He said that he was confident it would "have no effect" on the company and that the inquiry was focused on the actions of government officials, not ESSI.

"We will cooperate fully," he added.

Officials acknowledge the war is an economic boon to the company.

In its quarterly earnings report a year ago, then-Vice Chairman and CEO Gerald Daniels said: "The increasing likelihood for a prolonged military involvement in southwest Asia by U.S. forces well into 2006 has created a fertile environment for the type of support ... products and services that we offer."

Other ESSI products that have seen use in the current conflicts include radar and detection services, field medical stations and field electric-generator units.

In an interview yesterday, William Bush said he decided to cash in the options because they would soon expire.

"The deadline was coming up, and we put in a bid on a house in Florida," he said.

Asked if he was troubled by the fact the company has earned significant revenues from the military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president's uncle said he would "prefer there was no business in Iraq. Unfortunately, we live in a troubled world."