(Alliance News) - Defence contractor BAE Systems PLC on Thursday said trading in the first quarter was in line with expectations with strong order intake and good operational performance being maintained.
Ahead of its annual general meeting in Farnborough, England, BAE said it continues to expect a strong year of order intake and order flow to date has been positive especially on its long-term programmes.
BAE said its 2022 guidance was unchanged from the time of its annual results in February. Sales still are expected to be up 2% to 4%. Underlying earnings before interest and tax is seen up 4% to 6%.
In 2021, BAE reported underlying Ebit of GBP2.21 billion, up 10% from 2020, on sales that rose 2.2% to GBP21.31 billion.
"There remain ongoing pressures on our supply chains, delivery lead times and people resourcing across our operations," the company said. "Consistent with our guidance we continue to mitigate the major financial impacts."
Chief Executive Officer Charles Woodburn added: "Looking forward, our diverse portfolio, together with our focus on programme execution, cash generation and efficiencies, are helping us to navigate the challenging operating environment in the near term, while positioning us well for sustained top line and margin growth in the coming years, alongside accelerating our [environmental, social and governance] agenda."
Woodburn also said BAE sees "opportunities to further enhance the medium-term outlook as our customers address the elevated threat environment", due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
BAE Systems shares were down 1.2% at 756.20 pence on Thursday morning in London.
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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