BAE Systems sees jump in sales and profits

 

BAE Systems, the defence, aerospace and electronics giant, has seen a rise in both sales and profits for 2015.

Operating profit rose from £1.3bn to £1.5bn while sales increased by £1.3bn to £17.9bn. 

The company's chief executive Ian King said the group was well placed to continue to generate attractive returns for shareholders as "defence budgets recover".

In recent years, the company has seen a squeeze on defence spending.

It is also expanding into provision of cyber security for major corporations, including banks and telecoms.

In its statement the company said it had delivered another year of "solid performance" and "resilience in markets constrained by wider economic pressures". 

It added that the UK government commitments to "protect defence and security spend, in a still tightly constrained UK economic environment, were helpful". 

Earlier this week it announced the appointment of Charles Woodburn to the newly created role of chief operating officer, with the expectation that he would take over as chief executive in about 18 months.