Northrop Grumman 1Q net income falls 3 pct
Northrop Grumman posts 3 pct drop in 1st-qtr demand, but beats Wall Street predictions
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) -- Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp.'s first-quarter net income fell 3 percent as government defense spending cuts reduced sales at some of its businesses.
The company, based in Falls Church, Va., said Wednesday that it earned $489 million, or $2.03 per share, down from $506 million, or $1.96 per share, in the same quarter the year before. The recent quarter's results are based on 241 million outstanding shares, while last year's are based on 258 million.
Excluding one-time items, the company posted an adjusted profit of $1.94 per share for the recent quarter.
Revenue edged down 1.5 percent to $6.1 billion from $6.2 billion.
Despite the drops, the results beat Wall Street predictions. Analysts, on average, expected a profit of $1.73 per share on $5.95 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.
Aerospace sales increased 4 percent to $2.49 billion on higher demand for both manned and unmanned aircraft. But information systems revenue dropped 9 percent to $1.67 billion as a result of program completions and lower funding levels, while technical services revenue fell 4 percent to $717 million on lower demand from certain product programs.
For 2013, Northrop Grumman said it still expects to earn between $6.85 and $7.15 per share on revenue of about $24 billion. Analysts expect earnings of $6.99 per share on $23.93 billion in revenue.
Northrop Grumman shares rose $1.16 to $72.65 in morning trading.
