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BAE Systems PLC on Wednesday reaffirmed full-year guidance after reporting trading so far this year has been in line with management’s expectations. The London-based aerospace company said its order backlog and pipeline of work on incumbent positions provide ‘good visibility and support long-term growth’. In a trading statement ahead of Wednesday’s annual general meeting, BAE Systems said it expects a ‘robust set of further opportunities’ across all sectors, with the regions in which it operates poised for higher defence spending. BAE Systems Chief Executive Charles Woodburn said: ‘We’ve had a strong start to 2025 and are maintaining our guidance for the full year. During this time where the defence and security landscape is rapidly evolving, we are focused on delivering our long-term programme commitments to our customers, while investing in our business to boost capacity, drive efficiencies and shape our portfolio to support future growth.’ In response, shares in BAE Systems were down 0.5% at 1,762.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. BAE said it is actively engaged with the UK government on its ongoing strategic defence review and defence industrial strategy, which will make recommendations on the nation’s future defence plan in the coming months. Regarding tariffs, BAE pointed out the vast majority of equipment it delivers to US customers is produced in US operations with a largely domestic supply chain. ‘As such, we do not expect to be materially impacted by the US tariffs, as they are currently proposed,’ the firm stated. Markets in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East are also expected to see higher defence spending, BAE said. For 2025, BAE expects 7% to 9% growth in revenue from £28.3 billion in 2024. It expects underlying earnings before interest and tax to increase by 8% to 10% from £3.0 billion in 2024, with the same range of growth forecast for underlying earnings per share from 68.5 pence last year. Free cash flow of more than £1.1 billion is projected. BAE will announce its results for the six months ending June 30 on July 30. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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