Huntington Ingalls reports improved sales, lower profit

Huntington Ingalls Industries said today sales in its most recent quarter reached $2.1 billion, up 11% from the same three-month period a year earlier.

The company's quarterly profit hit $118 million, down 24% from the prior year.

HII attributed its sales growth to increased volume at Newport News Shipbuilding and the addition of acquisitions in its technical solutions group.

The company's technical solutions group reported quarterly sales of $257 million, up 10% from a year earlier, buoyed by the acquisitions of G2 and Fulcrum IT services as well as increased oil and gas sales, according to the contractor.

The unit's quarterly profit reached $5 million, more than double the $2 million in profit the prior year.

In a call with analysts this morning, Mike Petters, Huntington Ingalls' chief executive, said the company is very focused on unmanned work.

“If we're not moving toward a more unmanned future, we're going to miss an opportunity here,” he said. “Eight years ago, we didn't have an unmanned capability to speak of. . . . Now, we're part of the Boeing team that's going to be producing the [Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicle]. We're going to be actually manufacturing them. . . . That has given us a pretty good insight into where the UUV space is going.”

Petters said HII is “intentionally interested” in the unmanned surface vehicle space as well.

Meanwhile, BWX Technologies today said sales in its nuclear operations group, which includes its Navy work, reached $305 million during its most recent quarter, down nearly 4% from the same period a year earlier.

Sales sagged because of the timing of long-lead material purchases and lower missile tube volume, according to the company.

Quarterly profit for the unit hit $57.6 million, down 15%. BWXT attributed the decline to “lower volume and higher expenses associated with on-boarding employees to meet expected increased volume demands.”