bounce back30 Jul 2009 16:44
Wall street pinged upwards like lightning, it would drag even dead donkeys along with it. Tomorrow will be interesting. Good summary of BAE: 'Rival defence group BAE Systems wasn't as fortunate; its share price fell 3.2% to 317.5p over concerns about its widening pension deficit, which rose by £1 billion to £3.1 billion during the first half. The biggest weapons maker also posted a first-half net loss of £82 million, missing Bloomberg’s expectations for a profit of £635.7 million, after incurring writedowns on the value of a US acquisition and weaker sales of military land vehicles to the United States.
More importantly, however, BAE's first half underlying EBITA rose 19.4% to £979 million, up from £820 million a year ago. It also raised its dividend by 10% to 6.4p and said that it expects good growth for the full year.
The company also received a boost from America earlier this year, when the government proposed more funding for the F-35 joint strike fighter jet. BAE will also benefit from the new Eurofighter contract, which is expected to add £2 billion to its order book, which stood at £45 billion in the first half, up from £41.1 billion a year ago.'