The BAE Systems Board has recommended a final dividend of 18.5p, taking the total dividend for 2023 to 30.0p - an increase of 11.1% on last year. Subject to shareholder approval at the 2024 Annual General Meeting, the dividend will be paid on 3 June 2024 to shareholders on the share register on 19 April 2024.
Other financial highlights include:
The growth in sales and revenue was driven by strong programme performance across all sectors.
The increased profitability of the Group reflects strong programme execution and internal efficiency efforts.
Earnings per share increased reflecting the profitability of the Group and further benefitting from the on-going share buyback programme.
After generating free cash flow of £2.6bn, including net cash flow from operating activities of £3.8bn, the Group closed 2023 with cash of £4.1bn and net debt (excluding lease liabilities) of £1.0bn. This places the business in a strong position to manage the financing associated with the Ball Aerospace acquisition which completed in February 2024.
Their order backlog has reached a record level of £69.8bn, driven by order intake of £37.7bn following a number of significant awards in the year including SSN-AUKUS, Dreadnought and multiple combat vehicles orders in their Hägglunds business.
