Northrop Grumman to spin off shipbuilding unit
In a widely expected move, Northrop Grumman Corp.’s board of directors has voted to spin off its shipbuilding business to its shareholders.
Northrop Grumman, which is moving its headquarters to Fairfax County, said that the separation of the division — to be known as Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. — would provide a more focused effort for shipbuilding as well as Northrop’s other business units.
The company said Tuesday that Huntington Ingalls Industries, based in Newport News, Va., would be spun off to Northrop Grumman stockholders after final Securities and Exchange Commission clearance. Huntington Ingalls assets include the Newport News shipyard. It is the nation’s only manufacturer of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and employs 19,000 workers.
GeoEye earnings jump 30 percent
Dulles-based satellite imagery company GeoEye, which won a $3.8 billion contract from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency last fall, reported fourth-quarter revenue of $82.5 million, up 12.7 percent from a year earlier.
Net income was $15.2 million, or 68 cents per share, compared with net income of $11.7 million, or 55 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2009.
For all of 2010, GeoEye had $330.3 million in revenue, up nearly 22 percent from 2009. The company forecast 2011 revenue of as much as $380 million.
Capital One charge-offs decline
Capital One Financial Corp.’s credit card customers continue to catch up on their bills as the number of uncollectable accounts fell for the third straight month.
The McLean company reported a February charge-off rate for its U.S. credit card business of 5.9 percent, down from 6.79 percent in January. Charge-offs at its auto loan business fell to 1.97 percent, from 2.62 percent the previous month.
The number of customers still struggling to pay their bills also declined. Accounts 30 days past due fell to 3.83 percent from 4 percent in January. Delinquent car loans fell to 6.51 percent, from 7.86 percent.
