Northrop Grumman Corp. on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter loss as it took a $3.06 billion charge to write down the value of past acquisitions in its shipbuilding and space businesses.

The Los Angeles-based defense contractor reported a net loss of $2.54 billion (-$7.76 per share), compared with net income $457 million ($1.32) a year ago. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 4 percent to $9.15 billion, led by stronger sales in electronics, which increased nearly 14 percent. But sales in shipbuilding declined 3 percent due to lower deliveries.

The results included a charge for goodwill impairment on its acquisitions of Litton Industries Inc. and TRW Inc, which the company earlier warned it would take. Excluding the charge, Northrop earned $524 million ($1.57), in line with analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who on average expected $1.55 per share.

For 2009, Northrop expects earnings between $4.50 and $4.75 per share on revenue of $34.5 billion. Analysts, on average, expected $5.10 per share on revenue of $35.2 billion.

“Looking ahead, we continue to position our organization to be more agile and competitive,” Chief Executive Ronald D. Sugar said in a statement. “We begin 2009 with a $78 billion dollar backlog, the highest in Northrop Grumman’s history.”

Shares of Northrop Grumman were up 71 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $47.32 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.