BAE Systems forecasts more than £30bn in sales in 2025
BAE Systems has forecast more than £30bn in sales in 2025 as governments across the globe face pressure to hike military spending.
The London-listed defence giant said it expects sales to increase by seven to nine per cent on an annual total of £28.3bn in 2024. Underlying pre-tax earnings are also expected to rise eight to ten per cent from just over £3bn.
The announcement comes just a few days after European defence stocks surged to record highs amid news that Ukraine and its European backers had been sidelined from peace talks between the US and Russia.
Analysts are forecasting a big jump in spending from NATO members as governments grapple with the unpredictability of a Trump White House.
Reporting its full-year results, BAE said its record order backlog had expanded by a further £8bn to £77.8bn in the 12 months ended 31 December.
Underlying earnings per share rose 10 per cent to 68.5p alongside sales growth of 14 per cent. The company also netted a tidy £75m profit from selling off part of its shareholding in Air Astana, which listed on the London Stock Exchange last February.
BAE on Wednesday announced it would hike dividends by 10 per cent to 33p per share.
“The results we’re reporting today reflect the outstanding efforts of our employees and continue our track record of strong top-line and earnings growth, free cash flow and orders,” chief executive Charles Woodburn said.
“Based on the exceptional visibility of our record order backlog and sustainability of our value-compounding business model, we remain confident in the positive momentum of our business into the future.”
Shares, however, fell one per cent in early trading given the bar for defence firms’ performance is so high at the minute.
“The fact BAE merely hit the top end of expectations rather than outright beating them and delivered fairly cautious guidance seems to have been enough to spark a round of mild profit taking,” AJ Bell’s Laith Khalaf said.