
The acquisition last year of Orbital ATK combined with strong results in the company’s Aerospace Systems led to a solid opening quarter for Northrop Grumman [NOC], with sales and earnings higher and the outlook for earnings higher this year. Net income increased 3 percent to $863 million, $5.06 earnings per share (EPS), from $840 million ($4.79 EPS) a year ago, whipping analysts’ expectations by 46 cents per share. Sales increased 22 percent to $8.2 billion from $6.7 billion, with the…