Northrop to Pay Goodrich $99 Million

Northrop Grumman Corp. will pay Goodrich Corp. $99 million to settle some claims from Goodrich’s 2002 purchase of Northrop’s aeronautical-systems business.

Northrop has already made a $10-million deposit and is expected to pay the remaining $89 million by the end of this month, Charlotte, N.C.-based Goodrich said Monday.

The settlement covers customer warranty and other contract claims for some products made by the Northrop unit Goodrich acquired.

It does not include Goodrich’s claims against Century City-based Northrop related to a program to develop parts for the Airbus A380 aircraft. Goodrich, the world’s biggest maker of aircraft landing gear, bought the unit, then part of TRW Inc., in October 2002. Northrop bought the rest of TRW two months later.

Goodrich had recorded $45 million of warranty and product claims at the acquired unit as of Sept. 30, said Paul Gifford, Goodrich’s vice president for investor relations. The settlement covers those claims as well as some future liabilities, he said.

Goodrich assumed some future liabilities as part of the agreement. It will record pretax costs of $20 million to $30 million, or 11 cents to 17 cents a share, in the current quarter for those potential future claims, according to a statement released by Goodrich.