. Earth Science News .
Northrop Grumman Provides Operational/Damage Assessment Of Hurricane Katrina

Aerial file photo of Pascagoula shipyard.
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 08, 2005
Northrop Grumman stated Thursday that the impact of Hurricane Katrina will affect the near-term operations and financial results of its Ship Systems sector, which is reported as part of the Ships segment in the company's financial reports.

Other Northrop Grumman sectors operate smaller facilities in the Gulf Coast region that have also been impacted by Katrina, but to a much lesser extent than the Ship Systems operations.

While the company's facilities have incurred significant damage and its operations have been impacted, the company also stated that it has adequate resources and liquidity to meet its current obligations and does not expect a material impact to its overall financial health.

The company presently expects that its 2006 financial guidance will be largely unaffected by the hurricane, as there are aggressive efforts underway to restore the shipyards to full operations.

Northrop Grumman expects to begin a phased resumption of shipbuilding activity at its Ship Systems operations in New Orleans, La., Pascagoula, Miss. and Gulfport, Miss. during the month of September. Despite extensive damage to the shipyard facilities, major shipyard assets, such as cranes, dry docks and most fabrication facilities, have survived the hurricane and are being brought back to an operational status.

Approximately 2,500 people are now working to clean up and help bring the shipyards back to production.

For 2005, Northrop Grumman expects its financial results to be affected by Katrina in three primary categories: cost of damage repair, delay of work and cost growth on contracts.

With respect to the cost of damage repair, Northrop Grumman has insurance coverage addressing damage resulting from Katrina and is closely coordinating with its underwriters as the damage-assessment process continues. Although the company cannot currently estimate the full extent of the property damage, Northrop Grumman believes its insurance is adequate to cover the preponderance of any such costs.

Closure of the three operations as a result of the hurricane will significantly delay work in process at all sites. In addition to the clean-up and repair required on site, basic infrastructure in the surrounding area has been severely damaged. Many of the company's employees have also been individually impacted, causing delays in work proceeding. Northrop Grumman expects that contract work will resume in a phased approach at all three sites.

The company's previous financial guidance for 2005 included an expectation of approximately $950 million in revenue from the three operations for the remainder of the year. Northrop Grumman now expects revenues and operating margin to be lower due to work disruption and delay.

As the shipyards are brought back into operation, the rate of business resumption will determine the impact on the 2005 results. The company's current expectation is that work delay will negatively impact its 2005 earnings by $.06 to $.12 per share.

Northrop Grumman also expects to encounter cost growth on Ship Systems contracts. As a result of the delay and disruption associated with repairing the shipyards, the phased restart of work effort, the costs associated with the retention of employees and other ongoing expenses, it anticipates additional costs will be assigned to current contracts within Ship Systems.

These additional costs are generally allowable under government contracts, but margin under those contracts may be affected by varying cost-share arrangements. The company is working with its customers and underwriters to mitigate the potential impact of these cost effects.

The company cannot presently estimate, but is working to assess, the degree to which the earnings impact of this cost growth will be recognized in current periods, the extent to which these impacts are recoverable and the degree to which such recovery may be reflected in subsequent period results.

The projected effects of the above categories of impact are based on prior experience in achieving recovery of operations and expenses following storms; however, the broad scale of economic impact resulting from Katrina is more extensive than the events associated with the company's relevant prior experience. The company will assess its progress toward recovery, and will review whether there is a need for an impairment test of certain of its long-lived assets at the affected locations.

Northrop Grumman is proud of the hard work and dedication of its Gulf Coast employees in the face of extreme personal hardship. The company is equally dedicated to the rapid resumption of our work serving America's critical defense needs.

Related Links
TerraDaily
Search TerraDaily
Subscribe To TerraDaily Express

Fallujah And New Orleans, New Twin Towns
Washington (UPI) Sep 06, 2005
It was pure happenstance that the first big bi-partisan conference in Washington on terrorism and U.S. security policies, timed for the 4th anniversary of the original Sept. 11 attacks, should have coincided with the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.



Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only














The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.