Defence giant sees profits soar
DEFENCE giant BAE Systems, one of Lancashire’s largest employers with more than 12,000 workers at two huge military jet production sites, has reported better-than-expected annual profits.
The company, which is a key partner in multi-national partnerships such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and the F35 combat aircraft, said 2015 operating profits rose from £1.3bn to £1.5bn as sales climbed 7.6% to £17.9bn, beating forecasts of £17.5bn.
The company said it had seen higher sales to Saudi Arabia amid continuing tensions in the Middle East.
Chief executive Ian King said: “We have delivered another year of solid performance. BAE Systems has a large order backlog generated by a well-balanced portfolio of businesses serving the needs of customers in many of the world’s larger accessible markets.
“The group is well placed to continue to generate attractive returns for shareholders as defence budgets recover and our commercial adjacencies of cyber and commercial electronics continue to grow.”
In recent years, BAE has seen a squeeze on defence spending, but now has an order book of £36.8bn, which it said “underpins confidence in the future prospects for the business.”
Increasingly BAE Systems is diversifying into new areas such as providing cyber security for major corporations, including banks and telecoms.
