Lancashire defence giant BAE Systems sees £488m sales rise in a 'strong' year's performance

Amid the global uncertainty sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the defence company posted its results for 2021 showing revenue up form £19.27bn to £19.52bn as sales rose from £20.8bn in 2020.

The company's order intake increased by £0.6bn to £21.5bn and operating profit increased by £459m to £2,389m .

BAE Systems employs nearly 13,000 people in its air sector at sites across the UK including: Warton and Samlesbury in Lancashire; Brough in Yorkshire, RAF Coningsby and RAF Marham in the east of England; and Christchurch, Frimley and Yeovil in the south.

UK Air business employees are involved in developing future combat air and defence information systems and delivering support, maintenance and training to the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon, F-35 Lightning and Hawk fleets, providing vital frontline military capabilities to our UK and international customer base, playing its part in safeguarding national defence and security.

Over the year its F-35 programme at Samlesbury reached full-rate production levels of rear fuselage assemblies, completing 151 in the year.

It began work on the delivery of 38 Typhoon aircraft for Germany – and it continued to progress the order for 24 Typhoon and nine Hawk aircraft for the state of Qatar.

BAE Systems invested £300,000 in new digital skills programmes across Lancashire which will benefit up to 7,500 young people, boosting their employability and highlighting the technology careers available to them.

It was also awarded a £135m contract to drive forward the next phase of capability enhancements for Typhoon.

The 10,000 staff in Warton and Samlesbury equates to around one in ten of all manufacturing jobs in Lancashire, reflecting the region’s role as a hub for advanced engineering and the home of key programmes including Typhoon and Tempest, the UK’s future combat air system.

Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive, said: “Our strong results reflect the outstanding efforts of our employees who have continued to adapt and work closely with our customers, suppliers and trades unions to deliver capabilities which keep nations and citizens safe.

“We are continuing to evolve our business, increasing our investments in advanced technologies to deliver differentiated solutions to meet our customers’ priorities.

“Our diverse portfolio, together with our focus on programme execution, cash generation and efficiencies, is helping us to navigate the challenging operating environment, meaning we are well positioned for sustained top line and margin growth in the coming years.”

Recent research from Oxford Economics shows BAE Systems spends more than £70m with more than 200 suppliers in Lancashire and have partnered with local companies on initiatives such as its Warton-based Factory of the Future. Its Academy for Skills and Knowledge at Samlesbury is set to welcome a record number of apprentices this year.

The company statement also predicted that for the year ending December 31, 2022, the group’s sales were expected to grow in the 2 per cent to 4 per cent range over 2021. Sales growth was expected in the Electronic Systems, Air, Maritime and Cyber and Intelligence segments throughout the coming year.