Northrop Grumman profit up 5%

Northrop Grumman says its third-quarter profit rose 5 percent despite declining revenue as profit margins improved. The results beat analyst expectations and the company raised its full-year outlook.

The Falls Church, Va., defense contractor says it earned $520 million, or $1.86 per share, in the July-September quarter. That’s up from $497 million, or $1.67 per share, during the same period last year.

Revenue fell 6.5 percent to $6.61 billion, from $7.07 billion last year.

Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a profit of $1.68 per share on $6.82 billion in revenue.

Northrop is raising its outlook for 2011 to earnings between $6.95 per share and $7.05 per share, up from its previous estimate between $6.75 per share and $6.90 per share.

Analysts had expected a profit of $6.88 per share.