BAE Systems today tweaked upwards its profit forecasts despite the end of big defence spender President Donald Trump and hailed a major German order for the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The defence giant celebrated the giant German order for 38 of the fighter jets and said its order backlog remained strong.
It said: “Underlying earnings per share are now expected to be slightly higher than previously guided with good operational performance and an expected lower tax rate offsetting the negative foreign exchange impact.”
Governments have kept spending on defence contracts despite the short term coronavirus pandemic, leaving BAe in a strong financial position despite the difficulties of running its factories and other facilities under Covid restrictions.
No matter what President Joe Biden’s policies are on defence spending, the previous administration’s two year budget deal enacted in 2019 meant spending would be around $740 billion for the 2021 fiscal year.
In the UK, the government has pledged to spend 2% of GDP on defence, also setting BAe up well for future orders from the air and Navy forces.
After pressure from Donald Trump, European countries are moving towards their 2% defence spending commitments under Nato.
