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Babcock International Group PLC on Friday announced that its chief executive officer is stepping down, and said it is confident in delivering on expectations for the full year. The London-based aerospace and defence engineering firm said CEO David Lockwood has decided to retire by the end of calendar 2026. It has promoted Harry Holt, currently the CEO of its Nuclear sector, as Lockwood’s successor. Babcock said Holt will assume the newly-created role of deputy CEO and join the board in June, replacing Lockwood after ‘a comprehensive and seamless transition’. It added that Lockwood, who joined as CEO in 2020, will continue to support the business following his retirement. Babcock also released a trading update for its third quarter, which ended on December 31, calling its performance a continuation of the strong performance reported at the half-year. The company said it delivered good organic revenue growth and underlying operating margin progression, and that ‘the vast majority’ of forecast revenue for the year ending March 31 is now contracted. As a result, Babcock is ‘confident in delivering on the board’s expectations for FY26 trading, including meeting the FY26 margin target of 8%.’ Babcock said the average of analysts’ forecasts is revenue of £5.08 billion, up 5.1% from £4.83 billion in financial 2025, and underlying operating profit of £409 million for the year, up 13% on-year from £362.9 million. It said strong growth continued in the Nuclear sector, driven by new build clean energy projects and submarine support activities. The Aviation sector also saw strong growth, which Babcock said was mainly due to the ongoing ramp-up of its ’French Mentor 2’ contract. ‘The strategic progress we have made and our expectation of significant opportunities across all of our business into the medium term support our future growth ambitions,’ Babcock added. Shares in Babcock International were down 1.7% at 1,439.00 pence on Friday morning in London. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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