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BAE Systems PLC on Thursday reported record orders alongside revenue growth in 2022, but a slight decline in profit, as it lifted its payout by 7.6%. The London-based defence contractor said annual revenue rose 8.9% to £21.26 billion from £19.52 billion a year earlier. Sales were up 4.4% to £23.26 billion from £21.31 billion, beating previous company guidance of £23.05 billion. Pretax profit, however, fell 5.7% to £1.99 billion from £2.11 billion, as basic earnings per share declined by 7.4% to 51.1 pence from 55.2p a year earlier. Operating costs rose 8.6% to £19.27 billion from £17.74 billion, and net finance costs increased by 5.7% to £295 million from £279 million a year earlier. Underlying earnings before interest and tax amounted to £2.48 billion, up 5.5% from £2.21 billion and slightly above company guidance of £2.45 billion. ‘We’ve delivered sales, underlying EPS and free cash flow all above guidance, which is a testament to our people and their continued, long-term focus on operational excellence,’ said Brad Greve, finance director. BAE noted a ‘record’ order intake of £37.1 billion, compared to £21.46 billion in 2021, bringing its backlog to £58.9 billion, up from £44.0 billion a year ago. For 2022, BAE declared a total dividend of 27.0 pence per share, up 7.6% from 25.1p the year before. This beat consensus of 26.7p per share for the year. In 2023, BAE expects sales to increase by 3% to 5%, with underlying earnings before interest and tax to grow 4% to 6%, and underlying earnings per share to rise 5% to 7%. Shares were down 3.6% at 869.80 pence each on Thursday morning in London. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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