Arms group earns 31% more and expects year of growth.Byline: Iain Laing DEFENCE group BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. has reported a 31% rise in annual earnings and says it expects a "further year of good growth" in 2009. BAE, which has benefited from an increase in military spending to support forces fighting overseas, said underlying earnings were pounds 1.9bn in 2008, up from pounds 1.45bn a year earlier. The order book of the company, which employs more than 300 staff in Birtley, Gateshead, grew by 20% to pounds 46.5bn, helped by a 15-year UK munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. contract and further orders for land vehicles from the US military. The weakness of the pound against the US dollar also boosted the figure. The company has successfully targeted the higher growth sectors of the US defence market, while the scale of recent military operations This is a list of missions, operations, and projects. Missions in support of other missions are not listed independently. World War I ''See also List of military engagements of World War I
BAE recently bolstered its exposure to the US with the acquisition of Armor, a major supplier of kit to the military and security forces. Yesterday's results were presented for the first time by Ian King This article is about the CEO of BAE System; for the moral philosopher Iain King go here (disambiguation). Ian King is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of BAE Systems, responsible for all of the company's business outside of the United States. , who stepped up from chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. to replace Mike Turner as chief executive last August. He said the company had given a strong performance in 2008 and had good visibility going into this year. Mr King said: "We have a clear long term strategy to develop the group in the defence, security and aerospace sectors." The company reported an exceptional year at its land and armaments division, which provides and maintains armoured combat vehicles, artillery systems and missile launchers. It achieved sales of pounds 6.41bn in the year, with like-for-like growth of 38% on a year earlier. Underlying earnings from the division almost doubled to pounds 566m, while its order book stood at pounds 11.5bn, against pounds 7.3bn in 2007. In the company's programmes and support division, which has 30,200 employees and comprises UK-based air and naval activities, sales were reduced to pounds 4.64bn by the phasing of its deliveries on the Typhoon typhoon: see hurricane. fighter programme. Underlying earnings increased to pounds 491m from pounds 456m. Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers said BAE continued to justify its outperformance of the broader stock market - declining by 17% in the past 12 months against 34% for the FTSE-All share index. He said: "Progress has been made via a combination of acquisitions, contract wins and a continued push into new geographical regions, all further aided via the boost which a weaker pound has provided." On the downside, Mr Bowman noted the potential for governments to cut defence spending in the face of declining tax takes. "Nonetheless, for now, given progress to date and the group's perceived defensive qualities in uncertain times, analysts continue to assess the company positively." CAPTION(S): ORDERS BAE Systems is confident for 2009 |
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