Huntington Ingalls tops quarterly results as shipbuilding snags ease

US military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls reported second-quarter results above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, as production issues ease at its shipyards and demand booms for submarines.

The company's shares rose about five per cent in premarket trading.

Huntington is a prime contactor for the US Navy's nuclear-powered Columbia-class submarines and makes Virginia-class submarines at its Newport News Shipbuilding facility.

Huntington's output has suffered in recent quarters due to persistent problems in retaining skilled shipyard labor, despite China's expanding naval footprint and high global tensions keeping demand for submarines and aircraft carriers high.

"We have seen early signs that targeted investments are helping to stabilize the workforce and supply chain, in support of the broader maritime industrial base," CEO Chris Kastner said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump's push to revitalize American shipbuilding to deter China is also expected to boost sales for companies like Huntington.

It posted a second quarter per-share profit of $3.86, surpassing analysts' average estimate of $3.28, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Its sales and services revenue rose 3.5 per cent to $3.08 billion in the quarter, also topping expectations of $2.93 billion.

(Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)