US military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls posted a lower first-quarter operating margin on Tuesday, hurt by higher costs amid inflation and volatility in global trade.
Shares of the company were down nearly three per cent in premarket trading.
US tariffs on major trading partners have added to broader market uncertainty, deepening strain on global supply chains across sectors, including defense.
Despite strong US demand for submarines and aircraft carriers amid China's growing naval presence and broader global tensions, mounting cost pressures have weighed on the shipbuilder.
For the first quarter ending March 31, sales in its Newport News shipbuilding business increased 19.3 per cent to $1.67 billion but segment operating margin fell 80 basis points to 5.3 per cent.
The overall cost of product sales rose 20 per cent to $1.74 billion.
Huntington's quarterly profit per share remained flat at $3.79, while its operating margin fell to 5.0 per cent from 5.9 per cent last year.
Total quarterly revenue stood at $3.1 billion, above Wall Street estimates of $3.02 billion, as per data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)
