OREANDA-NEWS. "In the first half of 2016, BAE Systems performed well. Despite economic and political uncertainties, governments in our major markets continue to prioritise national security, with strong demand for our capabilities. In the US, we are seeing encouraging signs of a return to growth in defence budgets and improved prospects for our core franchises. In the UK, the result of the EU referendum will lead to a period of uncertainty, but we do not anticipate any material near-term trading impact on our business.

Our business benefits from a large order backlog, with established positions on long-term programmes in the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and Australia. We are well placed to maximise opportunities, deal with the challenges and continue to generate attractive shareholder returns.”

Results in brief
 
 
Six months ended 30 June 2016
Six months ended 30 June 2015
Year ended 31 December 2015
Sales
£8,714m
£8,472m
£17,904m
Underlying EBITA
£849m
£800m
£1,683m
Operating profit
£776m
£700m
£1,502m
Underlying earnings per share
17.4p
17.1p
40.2p
Basic earnings per share
12.9p
12.3p
29.0p
Order backlog
£36.3bn
£37.3bn
£36.8bn
Dividend per share
8.6p
8.4p
20.9p
Operating business cash flow
£(20)m
£(349)m
£681m
Net debt (as defined by the Group)
£(2,036)m
£(1,939)m
£(1,422)m
Financial key points
  • Sales1 increased by ?0.2bn to ?8.7bn mainly due to exchange translation
  • Underlying EBITA2 increased by 6% to ?849m, or 3% on a constant currency basis
  • Underlying earnings3 per share increased by 2% to 17.4p
  • Large order backlog1,5 of ?36.3bn
  • Interim dividend increased by 2% to 8.6p per share
  • Net debt8 of ?2.0bn on utilisation of customer advances
  • Group’s share of the pre-tax accounting net pension deficit9 increased by ?1.6bn to ?6.1bn