HII (NYSE: HII) released its second quarter 2024 results that showed growth across all core business segments.
The shipbuilder said Thursday its consolidated revenue rose 6.8% year-over-year to a record $2.97 billion, while net income climbed 33.1% to $173 million compared to Q2 2023.
Chris Kastner, president and CEO of HII, shared, “Mission Technologies achieved another quarter of strong performance and robust growth, which has allowed us to raise our Mission Technologies revenue guidance range for the year.”
Kastner specifically mentioned two critical shipyard milestones during the quarter, namely the delivery of Virginia-class submarine SSN 796 New Jersey and LPD 29 Richard M. McCool Jr.
“We are pleased to reiterate our full-year shipbuilding guidance and see meaningful opportunities for shipbuilding operating margin improvement in the second half of the year,” he added.
Other business highlights include operating income growth of 21.2% to $189 million from a year ago and a $48.5 billion backlog at the quarter’s end. New contract awards during the quarter reached $3.1 billion. To enhance shareholder value, HII repurchased 250,000 shares worth $65 million and paid $51 million in dividends.
Regarding the full-year financial outlook, HII expects shipbuilding revenue to be between $8.8 billion and $9.1 billion and shipbuilding operating margin of 7.6% to 7.8%. The forecasted revenue and operating margin for the Mission Technologies segment are $2.75 billion to $2.8 billion and 3% to 3.5%. Free cash flow guidance is from $600 million to $700 million.
According to Kastner, HII’s long-term capital and employee development investments, along with Navy industrial-based investments, would stabilize and improve the portfolio’s performance as the shipbuilder shifts towards new contracts. In the earnings call, he assures that HII can meet scheduled projections and performance goals and support achieving its financial commitments to shareholders.
