Strong Results for Northrop Despite Hurricanes

Northrop Grumman said on March 7 that excellent fourth quarter numbers posted in Newport News helped keep the company's shipbuilding business going strong despite suffering heavy damage from Hurricane Katrina. Northrop Grumman estimated that the company incurred $1 billion worth of property and equipment damage on the Gulf Coast. According t the daily Press, Northrop's insurance carriers are covering the first $500 million, but are questioning the other $500 million in a matter being fought out in the courts. As for the workers, more than 90 percent of Northrop's workers in the hurricane-damaged region have returned. Still, work is not back to normal as the workers still have lots of personal matters to attend to that requires lots of time off. About 150 to 200 workers are living in temporary housing at the shipyards, down significantly from the 1,200 the company housed at the yards shortly after the storm. Those delays will increase the cost of building the ships, with the Navy having to bear much of that increase. Operating profits for the ships division came in at $104 million, or 7.1 percent of sales. That compares with $107 million, or 6.2 percent of sales, in the fourth quarter of 2004. The more recent numbers were boosted by good performance on both aircraft carriers and submarines. (Source: Daily Press)