Financial key points
- Sales increased by 2% to £18.2bn
- Underlying EBITA increased by 3% to £1.9bn and underlying earnings per share increased by 9% to 42.0p
- Equitable conclusion reached on price escalation negotiations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Order backlog of £42.7bn maintained at 2012 levels with non-UK/US order intake of £9.3bn
- Robust, investment grade balance sheet, with net debt of £699m at year end
- Non-cash goodwill impairment of £865m in US businesses, due to increased weighted average cost of capital and taking into account lower US defence spending
- Full year dividend increased by 3% to 20.1p per share
- £850m returned to shareholders in 2013, including £212m on the share repurchase programme
Ian King, BAE Systems plc Chief Executive, said: "Overall, the Group delivered a solid performance in 2013, against the background of reduced government spending and challenging market conditions. A proactive focus on costs and enhanced competitiveness protected our margins across the majority of the business and we secured further contract wins in the US, Saudi Arabia and internationally. We have started 2014 with good momentum with a settlement on Salam pricing, US budgets in place and a well-defined UK Maritime sector plan. Budget pressures in some of the Group's larger markets are expected to prevail but BAE Systems has a broad-based portfolio. Our strong order backlog and robust balance sheet provide a solid basis for growth over the medium term."
