UPDATE 1-ITT backs current business portfolio

*CFO: Current lineup best as opposed to break-up

*Looking to grow defense customer base beyond Pentagon (Adds CFO's comments, byline)

By Karen Jacobs

ATLANTA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - ITT Corp (ITT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) can best boost shareholder value with its current portfolio of businesses as opposed to breaking up the company, the manufacturer's finance chief said on Wednesday.

She added that ITT expects its defense business to grow as the company expands its customer base beyond the U.S. Department of Defense. Growth in the U.S. defense budget is expected to slow as the Obama administration scales back some weapons programs and shifts spending priorities.

"We believe that we are going to create more value in this company by having our three platforms, investing where it makes sense ... and that that will be the best way for the shareholder value creation to occur as opposed to a break-up, splitting apart or whatever," Chief Financial Officer Denise Ramos said during a presentation at a Goldman Sachs investor conference that was broadcast on the Internet.

ITT has three business segments: defense electronics, which provides night-vision goggles and other military equipment; fluid technology, which supplies wastewater pumps; and motion and flow control, which serves automotive and commercial aerospace markets.

Speculation had arisen recently that the White Plains, New York-based company could be mulling a break-up or acquisition given a period of extended silence from ITT before it posted third-quarter earnings last week.

When the results were reported on Friday, ITT Chief Executive Steve Loranger said the company had lengthened its quiet period because it was finalizing estimates for asbestos liability claims that resulted in a third-quarter charge. The company's shares, which had run up amid speculation of a deal, closed down about 7 percent on Friday.