April 29 (Reuters) - Huntington Ingalls reported

a better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday, on the

back of demand for aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships

and submarines amid high geopolitical tension.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Demand for submarines and aircraft carriers is surging,

fueled by China's expanding naval footprint and high global

tensions, benefiting shipbuilding giants such as Huntington

Ingalls.

CONTEXT

Huntington is the only major pure-play defense company that

has outperformed S&P 500 index, helped by a

well-supported navy shipbuilding budget, including

inflation-related price increases.

GRAPHIC

BY THE NUMBERS

The largest U.S. military shipbuilding company's

first-quarter revenue rose 4.9% from a year earlier to $2.81

billion, ahead of analysts' estimate of $2.79 billion.

Huntington reported quarterly diluted earnings of $3.87 per

share, beating analysts' average estimate of $3.53, as per LSEG.

WHAT'S NEXT

The company reaffirmed its 2024 shipbuilding revenue target

to be between $8.8 billion and $9.1 billion.

However, shipyard labor retention remains a stubborn

problem. Shipbuilding is also under pressure due to program

delays, most notably on General Dynamics ( GD ) and Huntington's

Virginia Class submarine program which is being developed for

the U.S. Navy.

These delays impact the timelines and budgets of future

defense contracts for the company.