NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING ANNOUNCES SHAREHOLDER DIVIDEND FOR SECOND QUARTER

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., July 9, 1997 – Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS) announced today that its board of directors has declared a dividend of $0.04 per share on the issued and outstanding common stock of the company.

The dividend will be paid on or about July 31, 1997, to stockholders of record on July 19, 1997. This is the third consecutive quarter that a dividend has been declared since Newport News became an independent company.

Newport News Shipbuilding is America’s largest ship design and construction company. It has produced approximately 800 ships during its 111 years of operations – including Navy aircraft carriers, submarines, and cruisers. The company is currently building the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and has begun work in preparation for construction of the Navy’s New Attack Submarines. It is also building nine Double Eagle product tankers. Its 1996 revenues totaled $1.87 billion, with earnings before interest and taxes of $140 million. The current backlog is approximately $3.1 billion. The workforce numbers 18,000, making it Virginia’s largest private employer.