BAE Systems has reiterated its recently upgraded annual guidance after securing around £10billion in orders over the past few months.
Britain’s largest defence contractor said in August that it anticipates turnover rising by 5 to 7 per cent in 2023, alongside underlying earnings growth of 6 to 8 per cent and approximately £1.8billion in free cash flow.
The FTSE 100 company, which manufactures the Eurofighter Typhoon jets, has won more than £30billion in orders this year, with £21.1billion being awarded between January and June.
Flying high: BAE Systems, which manufactures the Eurofighter Typhoon jets (pictured), has won more than £30billion in orders this year
Another £10billion of orders has been granted since then, including a £4billion contract from the Ministry of Defence for work on the SSN-AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine programme.
BAE has also been given deals worth about $800million to provide Bradley fighting vehicles and $500million from Sweden for artillery systems.
Governments have been ramping up military budgets over the past two years due to heightened geopolitical tensions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over China’s claims on Taiwan.
Geopolitical tensions have ratcheted up in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, which has spurred worries of a broader Middle East conflict.
BAE’s revenues and orders have surged, with the latter hitting a record backlog of £66.2billion in June.
Charles Woodburn, its chief executive, said: ‘Order flow on new and existing programmes, renewals on incumbent positions and progress with our opportunity pipeline remains strong.
‘These underpin our confidence and visibility for good top line growth in the coming years, and we continue to reinforce our value compounding model with a sharp focus on operational performance and disciplined capital allocation.’
BAE expects to return about £1.4billion to investors in 2023, partly via an 11.5p per share interim dividend it intends to pay on 30 November, and partially through a £1.5billion stock buyback scheme announced last year.
The company is also planning to spend £4.4billion to acquire Ball Corporation’s aerospace division to help expand its US operations and boost its presence across industries such as civil space, missiles and munitions.
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘BAE occupies a key space in the defence market, and another promising update proves why the group’s so highly regarded in the defence space.
‘With some of its biggest buyers, the UK, US and Europe, all expected to continue raising defence budgets over the coming years, the sky really is the limit for this jet-maker.’
BAE Systems shares were 0.6 per cent, or 6.5p, higher at £11.10 on Monday morning and have climbed by around 53 per cent over the past 12 months.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealFooter {display:block; float:left; width:100%; margin-top:5px; background-color:#e3e3e3 } #fiveDealsWidget .footerText {font-size:10px; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
