UPDATE: Northrop Grumman Lifts 2014 Earnings Forecast

Northrop Grumman

reported a 4.7% rise in its second-quarter profit and raised its earnings forecast for the year. Northrop Grumman now projects profit of $9.15 to $9.35 per share for the year, versus its earlier outlook of $8.90 to $9.15 per share. It reiterated its sales forecast for the full year. The Falls Church, Virginia-based company posted a quarterly net profit of $511 million, versus a year-ago profit of $488 million. Its per-share earnings rose to $2.37 versus $2.05. Excluding pension costs, Northrop Grumman's earnings climbed to $2.04 per share from $1.97 per share. Its revenue slipped 4.1% to $6.04 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $2.22 per share on revenue of $5.97 billion. Aerospace Systems sales dropped 4%, while Electronic Systems sales slipped 2%. Information Systems sales tumbled 8%, while Technical Services sales gained 1%. Its product costs dropped 1.3% to $2.67 billion, while order backlog declined to $35.56 billion as of June 30, versus $37.72 billion in the year-ago period. Cash provided by operating activities rose to $572 million in the quarter, versus $328 million in the year-ago period. However, free cash flow provided by operating activities climbed to $456 million versus $280 million. Wes Bush, chairman, chief executive officer and president said, "Second quarter results demonstrate our team's continued commitment to strong execution. We continue to focus on performance, cash deployment and portfolio alignment as the primary value creation drivers for our shareholders, customers and employees." Northrop Grumman shares gained 1.13% to close at $126.53 yesterday.