BAE boss cheers NATO spending surge as its order book swells to £75B
And it is set to benefit further after Nato members pledged to increase military spending to 5 per cent by 2035. '[The] Nato summit of a few weeks ago and the consensus [to increase defence spending] really underpins our confidence in the long term,' BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn said. But shares in the FTSE 100 giant dipped more than 2 per cent on Wednesday morning as investors were disappointed by the scale of the upgrade.
Woodburn said there might have been 'a bit of profit taking going on' on Wednesday but added that he is 'confident in the long-term outlook'. BAE Systems shares are up more than 50 per cent so far this year. BAE received £13.2billion worth of new orders in the first six months of the year, taking its order book to £75billion.
And it has accelerated investment in UK facilities due to the 'deteriorating threat environment here in Europe,' Woodburn said. In the first six months of the year, it expanded its Glasgow shipbuilding site and opened a new £25million artillery factory in Sheffield. The company is on track to recruit 2,400 graduates and apprentices in the UK this year.
'We don't ourselves struggle to attract talent', Woodburn said, but warned that 'some of our supply chain may experience more challenges'. 'As the UK, across Europe and the US look to rearm and increase the pace of that, inevitably there are going to be supply chain challenges,' he said.
'We've had quite some shocks to supply chain that we have been able to navigate through,' Woodburn said, citing the Covid-19 pandemic and the start of Russia's war in Ukraine. 'It does require very active management [but] it's not something I think we can't manage,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Government defends Online Safety Act after X claims it threatens free speech
The Government has defended the Online Safety Act after Elon Musk's X said the legislation was threatening free speech. In a post titled What Happens When Oversight Becomes Overreach, the platform, formerly known as Twitter, outlined criticism of the act and the 'heavy-handed' UK regulators. The Government countered that it is 'demonstrably false' that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech and said it is not designed to censor political debate. Under rules that came into effect on July 25, online platforms must take steps to prevent children accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide. This includes a new duty for online providers to reduce the risk that users encounter illegal content as well as age verification measures in the UK to access pornographic content. 'As a result, the act's laudable intentions are at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach. Without a more balanced, collaborative approach, free speech will suffer,' X said. It accused regulators of taking a 'heavy-handed approach' and said that 'many are now concerned that a plan ostensibly intended to keep children safe is at risk of seriously infringing on the public's right to free expression'. Ofcom said this week it had launched investigations into 34 pornography sites for new age-check requirements. The company said 'a balanced approach is the only way to protect individual liberties, encourage innovation and safeguard children'. A Government spokesperson said: 'It is demonstrably false that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech. 'As well as legal duties to keep children safe, the very same law places clear and unequivocal duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression. Failure to meet either obligation can lead to severe penalties, including fines of up to 10% of global revenue or £18 million, whichever is greater. 'The Act is not designed to censor political debate and does not require platforms to age gate any content other than those which present the most serious risks to children such as pornography or suicide and self-harm content. 'Platforms have had several months to prepare for this law. It is a disservice to their users to hide behind deadlines as an excuse for failing to properly implement it.' Technology Secretary Peter Kyle became embroiled in a row with Nigel Farage earlier this week over Reform UK's pledge that it would scrap the Act if the party came into power. He said the Reform UK leader of being on the side of 'extreme pornographers'.
Auto Express
14 minutes ago
- Auto Express
Volkswagen, Skoda and Cupra slash electric car prices
The Volkswagen Group has decided it doesn't want to wait around and see which of its EVs are eligible for the government's new Electric Car Grant scheme, and has cut £1,500 from the price of selected electric cars from Volkswagen, Skoda and Cupra. The government recently announced a grant scheme for fully electric cars costing under £37,000, but it's still unclear which models will be eligible for £1,500 or £3,750 off their respective price tag. It's dependent on complex sustainability criteria – which is why we don't know which models will meet the government's grant just yet. For Volkswagen, the electric cars that fall under the German firm's new £1,500 'Grant Guarantee' include the ID.3 in Pure, Pro and Pro trim levels, along with the ID.4 in Pure and Pro - essentially excluding the GTX from both. The £1,500 grant would bring the entry-level ID.3 Pure Essential's price down to £29,360 and the ID.4 Pure Match to £38,090. Advertisement - Article continues below If the new £1,500 grant from Volkswagen isn't enough to tempt you, then check out the big savings through the Auto Express marketplace, where you'll find great deals on loads of pure-electric cars. As for Skoda, its grant covers the Elroq and Enyaq, in SE, SE L, Edition and SportLine trim. With the grant the Elroq will cost from £30,010 and the Enyaq £38,190. Cupra's grant is on the Born hatchback on V1, V2 and V3 trim levels - lowering the base price to £34,190. All three brands will run their new £1,500 'Grant Guarantee' until 31 August. Volkswagen, Skoda and Cupra all say their grant 'will honour the £1,500 grant on the vehicles specified, even if the Government's grant is not awarded'. You won't be able to receive both the 'Grant Guarantee' and the Government Electric Car Grant on any of those models however. The latest moves follow similar offers or incentives from brands including Hyundai, Alfa Romeo, Kia and Leapmotor. Configure your perfect Skoda Elroq through our Find A Car service now. Alternatively, check out the best deals out there on a new Skoda Elroq from stock or top prices on used Skoda Elroq models...
BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
Oxfordshire council spent £6m on private SEND school company
A council has spent £6.64m of public funds with a private special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provider over the past financial year, where owners made a £44m County Council has worked with Witherslack, which operates Chilworth House School and Chilworth House Upper School in Wheatley, where 79 students are Democrats research into the profits of SEND companies found it turned over £200m, with profits up 150% from Group declined to formally comment but argues that its schools are initially loss making so the increase in profits reflects its investment in recent years and enables more pupils to receive a good education. The Lib Dems have called for an 8% cap on profits for SEND companies to "stop shameless profiteering".The party's education spokesperson, Munira Wilson, argued profits were made "off the backs of disabled children" and at a time local councils face financial Glover, MP for Didcot and Wantage, said seeing local authorities spend £1.42bn nationally on some of providers was "a huge concern". "A lot of it is public money that they're getting and local authority budgets are facing more and more pressure all the time," he said."That's why I'm pleased that Oxford County Council is bringing forward plans to introduce new special schools for the area, which they hope would be run by multi-academy trusts."Mr Glover said the key was about "the balance between these companies and their right to make profits, but also looking at where they're getting them from"."More and more of my constituents are frustrated that they see council tax bills going up," he said."More and more of that is going on things like adult social care or special educational needs provision."And that sometimes comes at the cost of investment in things that they would like to see more locally, particularly on roads." A Department for Education spokesperson said the system the Labour government inherited "has been failing families of children with SEND for far too long"."...it's appalling that some companies are capitalising on this crisis," they added."We are already making progress to reform the SEND system, from more early intervention in mainstream schools across ADHD, autism and speech and language needs, through to £740 million investment to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
