LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) announced today that its board of directors, at a meeting held yesterday, approved a 15 percent increase of the common stock quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share from $0.26 per share.
The quarterly cash dividend of $0.30 per share will be payable June 10, 2006, to shareholders of record as of the close of business May 30, 2006. The board also declared a regular dividend of $1.75 per share on the company's Series B convertible preferred stock, payable July 17, 2006, to shareholders of record as of the close of business July 6, 2006.
"This marks our third double-digit dividend increase in as many years, demonstrating our board's continued confidence in the performance of our business," said Ronald D. Sugar, Northrop Grumman chairman, chief executive officer and president. "Our balanced cash deployment strategy is an important component of our efforts to increase shareholder value."
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in systems integration, defense electronics, information technology, advanced aircraft, shipbuilding and space technology. With approximately 125,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.
Statements and assumptions in this release contain or are based on "forward-looking" information (that Northrop Grumman believes to be within the definition in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) and involve risks and uncertainties, and include, among others, statements in the future tense, and all statements accompanied by terms such as "project," "expect," "estimate," "assume," "guidance," "plan" or variations thereof. This information reflects the company's best estimates when made, but the company expressly disclaims any duty to update this information if new data becomes available or estimates change after the date of this report.
Such "forward-looking" information includes, among other things, projected deliveries, expected funding for various programs, future effective income tax rates, financial guidance regarding sales, segment operating margin, pension expense, employer contributions under pension plans and medical and life benefits plans, and cash flow, and is subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside Northrop Grumman's control. These include Northrop Grumman's assumptions with respect to future revenues, expected program performance and cash flows, returns on pension plan assets and variability of pension actuarial and related assumptions, the outcome of litigation and appeals, environmental remediation, divestitures of businesses, successful reduction of debt, effective tax rates and timing and amounts of tax payments, the results of any appeal process with the Internal Revenue Service, and anticipated costs of capital investments, among other things. Northrop Grumman's operations are subject to various additional risks and uncertainties resulting from its position as a supplier, either directly or as subcontractor or team member, to the U.S. Government and its agencies as well as to foreign governments and agencies; actual outcomes are dependent upon various factors, including, without limitation, Northrop Grumman's successful performance of internal plans; government customers' budgetary constraints; customer changes in short-range and long-range plans; domestic and international competition in both the defense and commercial areas; product performance; continued development and acceptance of new products and, in connection with any fixed-price development programs, controlling cost growth in meeting production specifications and delivery rates; performance issues with key suppliers and subcontractors; government import and export policies; acquisition or termination of government contracts; the outcome of political and legal processes; natural disasters and terrorist acts; legal, financial, and governmental risks related to international transactions and global needs for military aircraft, military and civilian electronic systems and support, information technology, naval vessels, space systems and related technologies, as well as other economic, political and technological risks and uncertainties and other risk factors set out in Northrop Grumman's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, Northrop Grumman reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.