23rd Feb 2023 09:52
(Alliance News) - 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 GBP21.26 billion from GBP19.52 billion a year earlier. Sales were up 4.4% to GBP23.26 billion from GBP21.31 billion, beating previous company guidance of GBP23.05 billion.
Pretax profit, however, fell 5.7% to GBP1.99 billion from GBP2.11 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 GBP19.27 billion from GBP17.74 billion, and net finance costs increased by 5.7% to GBP295 million from GBP279 million a year earlier.
Underlying earnings before interest and tax amounted to GBP2.48 billion, up 5.5% from GBP2.21 billion and slightly above company guidance of GBP2.45 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 GBP37.1 billion, compared to GBP21.46 billion in 2021, bringing its backlog to GBP58.9 billion, up from GBP44.0 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.
By Xindi Wei, Alliance News reporter
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