BAE Systems, Britain's largest defence contractor, has reported half-year profits of £482m, or 14.6p per diluted share. This compares to £484m for the same period last year.
Sales declined by 10 per cent to £8.33bn (2011: £9.23bn). Underlying EBITA fell by 3 per cent to £939m (2011: £968m). On a like-for-like basis, sales were 11 per cent lower than in 2011.
Operating profit was £786m (2011: £757m), while finance costs came to £131m (2011: £66m).
The group generated a profit of £18m on the disposal of its safety products business during the period, which was part of its land and armaments division.
The company’s electronic systems segment generated sales of £1.18bn (2011: £1.22bn), while the cyber and intelligence segment achieved sales of £714m (2011: £651m). The platforms and services (UK) business brought in sales of £2.65bn (2011: £3.05bn), while platforms and services (international) achieved sales of £1.57bn (2011: £1.75bn).
The group’s order intake in markets outside the US and UK increased to £4.3bn (2011: £1.6bn), including a £1.6bn training aircraft contract in Saudi Arabia and a £0.5bn contract for CV90 vehicles in Norway. Overall, the order backlog has increased by £0.9bn since 31 December 2011.