Northrop Grumman Corp., vying with two larger defense contractors for a U.S. bomber contract to be awarded this year, predicted a 2015 profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates.

Annual earnings will be $9.20 to $9.50 a share, Northrop said Thursday, topping the average estimate of $9.08. Sales will be $23.4 billion to $23.8 billion, according to the Falls Church, Virginia, company. Revenue in that range would mark a drop from last year’s $24 billion.

The Long Range Strike-Bomber competition for the U.S. Air Force could be a boon for Northrop and reverse six quarters of falling sales. Northrop, which previously made the B-2 Spirit stealth jet, is competing with a Lockheed Martin Corp.-Boeing Co. team for the program, which could call for 80 to 100 aircraft at a cost of $550 million apiece.

The potential $55 billion deal would dwarf drone and radar contracts won in the fourth quarter by Northrop, the maker of the Global Hawk unmanned surveillance plane.

Military contractors have rallied on increasing global instability and the prospect for rising sales of missiles, drones and other weapons.

Quarterly net income rose 5.9 percent to $506 million, or $2.48 a share, Northrop said. That exceeded the $2.26 average of 13 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Northrop has focused on aerospace operations since spinning off its shipbuilding business in 2011. Sales decreased less than 1 percent in the quarter to $6.11 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $5.99 billion.

The company won a $657 million contract last month to provide South Korea with four Global Hawks and additional parts. Northrop announced several other contracts during the quarter, including a $207 million deal with the U.S. Marine Corps for radar systems.

Revenue has been falling for government contractors as defense spending dropped about 17 percent from a peak in 2010. In his State of the Union address earlier this month, President Barack Obama called on lawmakers to improve the nation’s cybersecurity and authorize the use of force against Islamic State terrorists. Both efforts could benefit Northrop.