Northrop Grumman scuttles its shipbuilding unit

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Northrop Grumman Corp. today completed the spin-off of its Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. subsidiary, which designs, builds, and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the Navy and Coast Guard.

Northrop Grumman Corp. completed the spin-off today of its Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. subsidiary to its shareholders.

The company designs, builds, and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the Navy and Coast Guard. It is based in Newport News, Va.

As a result of the spin-off, Northrop Grumman will report shipbuilding financial results as discontinued operations for the first quarter of 2011 and all prior periods, the defense contractor said in a statement.

"Today's completion of the separation of Huntington Ingalls from Northrop Grumman is an important milestone benefiting both companies," said Wes Bush, Northrop Grumman's CEO and president, in the announcement.

"Northrop Grumman will now be focused on its core markets of aerospace systems, electronic systems, information systems and technical services," Bush added.

Current Northrop Grumman stockholders received one share of Huntington Ingalls common stock for every six shares of Northrop Grumman common stock they held. Stockholders will receive cash in lieu of fractional shares of Huntington Ingalls.

Northrop Grumman, of Los Angeles, ranks No. 2 on Washington Technology’s 2010 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.