Ruling seen cutting Lockheed earnings

BETHESDA, Md. — Lockheed Martin Corp. Monday said a court ruling in its dispute with the Department of Energy and the state of Idaho will reduce fourth-quarter earnings by $110 million.

On Friday, an Idaho district court ordered the giant Bethesda-based defense contractor to pay $65 million for its botched attempt in the late 1990s to clean radioactive waste at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

A Lockheed subsidiary was the subcontractor hired to clean up Pit 9, a one-acre tract where material from nuclear weapons production during the Cold War was buried.

Lockheed said it expects to record an after-tax charge in the fourth quarter of about 25 cents a share.