BAE counting on UK defence spending as profits fall
BAE Systems announced a drop in annual net profit on 22 February but said it expected government defence spending to remain a priority.
Profit after tax dropped 6.5% to £854 million in 2017 compared with a year earlier, with the group hit by a sizeable impairment linked to its cyber security unit, BAE said in an earnings statement.
Group revenue meanwhile grew 3% to £18.32 billion.
Charles Woodburn, chief executive, BAE Systems, said: ‘With an improving outlook for defence budgets in a number of our markets, we are well placed to generate good returns for shareholders.’
Late in 2017, BAE said it planned to axe 2,000 jobs, mainly owing to weaker demand for Hawk and Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets.
On 22 February, BAE said that ‘defence and security remains a priority for the UK government’.
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