Military shipbuilder Huntington beats Q1 estimates, shares down 12% on weak profit margins
Adds share movement in headline, lead and 2nd paragraph
May 2 (Reuters) -Huntington Ingalls HII.N reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday on the back of demand for aircraft carriers but profit margins were below company estimates, sending shares down despite geopolitical tensions.
Shares fell 12% during trading on Thursday.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Demand for submarines and aircraft carriers is surging, fueled by China's expanding naval footprint and high global tensions, benefiting shipbuilding giants such as Huntington Ingalls.
CONTEXT
Huntington is the only major pure-play defense company that has outperformed S&P 500 index .SPX, helped by a well-supported navy shipbuilding budget, including inflation-related price increases.
GRAPHIC
BY THE NUMBERS
The largest U.S. military shipbuilding company's first-quarter revenue rose 4.9% from a year earlier to $2.81 billion, ahead of analysts' estimate of $2.79 billion.
Huntington reported quarterly diluted earnings of $3.87 per share, beating analysts' average estimate of $3.53, as per LSEG.
WHAT'S NEXT
The company reaffirmed its 2024 shipbuilding revenue target to be between $8.8 billion and $9.1 billion.
However, shipyard labor retention remains a stubborn problem. Shipbuilding is also under pressure due to program delays, most notably on General Dynamics GD.N and Huntington's Virginia Class submarine program which is being developed for the U.S. Navy.
These delays impact the timelines and budgets of future defense contracts for the company.
Major pureplay defense stocks in 2024 https://reut.rs/4bfu9Ds
Reporting by Pratyush Thakur in Bengaluru and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Chris Reese
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