BAE Systems 2008 profit soars 93 per cent

LONDON: BAE Systems PLC, the British defense and aerospace contractor, reported on Thursday a 93 per cent jump in full-year 2008 profits and said it had a strong order book to carry it through the year ahead.

BAE, the world's third-largest defense company, reported a net profit of 1.75 billion pounds ($2.5 billion), up from 901 million pounds in 2007. Revenue rose 16.5 percent to 16.67 billion pounds.

The company said results were helped by the fall of the pound, which boosted the value of income from the United States and Europe. BAE shares rose 1.6 per cent to 392.25 pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.

London-based BAE said defense budgets are likely to come under pressure because of the global economic downturn.
"The group is well positioned, having a large forward order book, a good balance of market positions around the globe, a well spread portfolio of programs and a strategy to address anticipated priority areas of spend for its customers," the company said.

The company said the value of its order book rose by 20 per cent to 46.5 billion pounds, though 5.9 billion pounds of that reflected the falling value of the pound.