Northrop Grumman profit rises

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday first-quarter profit rose less than expected, as higher sales of its military equipment was offset slightly by the costs of a strike at one of its shipyards.

The No. 3 U.S. defense contractor, which makes warships, nuclear submarines, unmanned surveillance planes and a range of military electronics, kept its full-year earnings forecast unchanged.

Its shares fell 69 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $75.87 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Northrop, the third-largest Pentagon contractor behind Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), reported quarterly net profit of $387 million, or $1.10 per share, compared with $358 million, or $1.02 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Wall Street was expecting $1.14 per share, on average, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $7.3 billion. Analysts were expecting $7.49 billion, on average.

A nearly month-long strike at Northrop's Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi -- which ended April 4 -- cut the company's profit by about 2 cents per share, Northrop executives said in an interview.

For the full year, Northrop kept its earnings forecast unchanged at $4.80 to $5.05 per share. Wall Street is expecting $5.00 per share, on average.