Defense contractor Northrop Grumman said Oct. 24 its third-quarter net income fell 12 percent, pulled down by a $66 million drop in net pension income, along with lower revenue.
But the company’s profit beat Wall Street predictions and it boosted its full-year profit outlook.
The Falls Church, Va.,-based company earned $459 million, or $1.82 per share in the three months ended Sept. 30. That was down from $520 million, or $1.86 per share, in the same quarter last year.
The per-share results got a significant boost – about 18 cents – from a nearly 10 percent drop in the number of outstanding shares.
Revenue fell 5 percent to $6.27 billion, from $6.61 billion last year.
Analysts, on average, expected a profit of $1.69 per share on $6.33 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.
Revenue at the company’s aerospace business rose 5 percent to $2.59 billion, as demand for its drone aircraft systems increased. But electronic systems revenue fell 10 percent to $1.71 billion and information systems revenue decreased 9 percent to $1.78 billion, both as a result of lower demand for defense-related products, which the company said reflects force reductions overseas.
Northrop Grumman boosted its full-year profit outlook, and now expects earnings to come in between $7.35 and $7.40 per share. That’s up from its previous range of $7.05 to $7.25 per share. Analysts, on average, expect $7.25 per share, with estimates ranging from $7.13 to $7.55.
The company also said it now expects its sales for the year to total about $25 billion. It previously predicted a range of $24.7 billion to $25.4 billion. Analysts expect $25.19 billion, on average, with estimates from $24.97 billion to $25.59 billion. AP
