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LONDON: BAE Systems said on Thursday it expected Saudi Arabia to sign a firm contract for Eurofighter combat jets by the end of the year.
Chief Executive Mike Turner told reporters on a conference call that he expected a deal this year, noting they were government-to-government negotiations, with BAE serving as the prime contractor.
Finance Director George Rose told reporters on the call that the Saudi deal would not impact BAE's profits for several years, likely “in the last two” years of its five-year outlook.
CEO Turner, when asked about a series of probes into past BAE dealings by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said the firm would continue to cooperate with requests from the SFO.
