Executive Summary
The completion of two mergers by defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. nearly doubled the Los Angeles-based company’s revenues and boosted it to the No. 1 position on the list of L.A.’s 25 largest technology companies in 2001 from No. 2 the year before.
Much of the company’s overall work is in space and missile-defense systems including radar systems, intelligence-gathering aircraft and battlefield management computer systems. Its planned acquisition of TRW Inc. is expected to strengthen Northrop’s position in that area.
Northrop’s rise to No. 1 knocked out Computer Sciences Corp., which fell to No. 2 with $10.5 billion in revenues, a 12.3 percent rise. Computer Sciences, an information technology services firm, also gets a substantial portion of its business from the Department of Defense.
Other companies on the list deal with varied lines of business from No. 4 Amgen Inc.’s biotechnology products to No. 8 computer monitor manufacturer ViewSonic Corp.
Each of the top eight companies recorded more than $1 billion in annual revenues.
Jason Schaff
The Pacesetter
Northrop Grumman Corp.
With Newport News Shipbuilding and Litton Industries Inc. added to its stable of defense and aerospace companies, Northrop Grumman’s $13.6 billion in 2001 revenues rocketed over the year earlier, making it the largest technology business in L.A. County.
With operating divisions in electronics systems, information technologies, integrated systems and component technologies in addition to shipbuilding, this year’s deal to acquire assets of TRW Inc. will make it the nation’s second largest defense contractor.
Its five technology operating divisions accounted for 86 percent of revenues in 2001, and the company projects revenues will reach $18 billion in 2002. Shipbuilding is expected to account for as much as 24 percent of revenues this year.
Northrop, with headquarters in Century City, will be the lead subcontractor in the $200 billion F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) program, accounting for 20 percent of program expenditures with its integrated and electronic systems and information technologies divisions.
The company has been a pioneer in unmanned air vehicles, developing the Global Hawk, used in the war in Afghanistan, and X47-A Pegasus, a speculative project aimed at gaining a contract from the U.S. Navy.
Jonathan Diamond
