The boss of Britain’s biggest defence company scooped £10.7million last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused its share price to soar.
Charles Woodburn, who has been chief executive of BAE Systems since 2017, received more than £9million in bonuses on top of his £1.1million annual salary.
It was a jump of £3.6million from his £7.1million pay packet a year earlier.
Demand: BAE, which builds the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet as well as nuclear submarines (pictured), has also seen demand increase due to tensions between the US and China.
BAE shares have risen around 80 per cent since the start of last year as war in Ukraine has boosted defence spending.
The FTSE 100 giant, which builds the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet as well as nuclear submarines and ammunition, has also seen demand increase due to mounting tensions between the US and China.
It won major contracts last year including a £4.2billion agreement to provide the Royal Navy with five Type 26 frigates.
Aerospace analyst Francis Tusa said the company did ‘very well’ last year and he expects we will start to see the full effect of the war in Ukraine in next year’s results – potentially setting up another bumper payday for Woodburn.
Tusa added: ‘BAE has done well in the States because of the growing US fear of China going back to 2020.
UK-wise they got the second batch of Type 26 frigates and have done particularly well on exports.’
BAE, which is now valued at £30billion, took on a record £37.1billion of orders last year, pushing its backlog up to £58.9billion.
At the time, BAE said: ‘While it is tragic that it took a war in Europe to raise the awareness of the importance of defence, BAE is well positioned to help national governments keep their citizens safe and secure in an elevated threat environment.’
Spoils of war: BAE boss Charles Woodburn received more than £9m in bonuses on top of his £1.1m annual salary
Woodburn’s £10.7million award means he has been paid a total of £31.3million since taking the helm at the defence giant.
While the payout comes after a year of significant returns for shareholders, it will probably spark a backlash at the firm’s annual meeting.
Two years ago almost a quarter of BAE’s shareholders rebelled against a £2million ‘golden handcuff’ bonus for Woodburn to stop him leaving the company for the mining giant Rio Tinto.
Woodburn is not alone in seeing his pay soar.
The BP annual report recently showed that its boss Bernard Looney was paid £10million last year – more than double the previous year.
GSK chief executive Dame Emma Walmsley also pocketed £8.5million, which was up from £8.3million a year earlier.
And Shell paid its former boss Ben van Beurden £9.7million in his last year in charge of the oil and gas giant.
The ongoing pay bonanza in British boardrooms will raise eyebrows at a time when families across the country are struggling to make ends meet as food and energy bills soar, and inflation has passed 10 per cent.
