BAE Systems full-year profit down 43%

LONDON: BAE Systems PLC, Britain's largest defense and aerospace contractor, on Thursday reported a 43 percent drop in profit in 2007 compared with a year earlier when the company sold its stake in Airbus.

BAE reported a profit of 922 million pounds (euro1.22 billion; $1.8 billion) for the year, compared with 1.64 billion pounds in 2006.

Discounting the impact of disposals, profit from continuing operations was up 39 percent to 900 million pounds ($1.2 billion $1.75 billion).

BAE shares rose 0.4 percent to 473.75 pence (euro6.26 $9.22) on the London Stock Exchange.