Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) last week posted strong fourth quarter and full-year results on strength across its shipbuilding and mission systems businesses.
Huntington Ingalls Industries subsidiaries are part of major joint ventures doing business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons complex, including the legacy cleanup contractor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
Net income in the quarter increased 29% to $159 million, $4.04 earnings per share (EPS), from $123 million ($3.15 EPS) a year ago. Sales increased 16% to $3.5 billion from $3 billion.
Operating income more than doubled at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding and Mission Technologies segments on improved performance in the Navy’s Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine program, warfare systems, global security and unmanned systems. The Ingalls Shipbuilding segment also boasted strong operating earnings on higher sales and fewer unfavorable revenue adjustments for amphibious assault ships and surface combatants versus a year ago.
For 2025, net income increased 10% to $605 million ($15.39 EPS) and sales rose 8% to $12.5 billion. Mission Technologies had record sales of just over $3 billion, the first time the segment crossed $3 billion.
The outlook for shipbuilding margins assumes further improvement in throughput in 2026 and certain contract awards. Two key awards are the Block VI buy of 10 Virginia-class submarines and a tranche of five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines that Chris Kastner, HII’s president and CEO, said is needed by the end of June to “maintain our production schedules.”
Kastner is unsure when the Block VI and Columbia awards will be made. The contracts had been expected in 2024. HII is teamed with General Dynamics’ (GD) Electric Boat division on construction of both submarine types.
Last week during GD’s fourth quarter earnings call, Phebe Novakovic, the company’s chairwoman and CEO, was asked about the timing of the awards for Block VI and the next five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. “To be quite honest, we don’t know,” she replied.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.