British military equipment maker BAE Systems on Thursday said annual net profit jumped over a third following asset disposals, while its shares were a rare riser after Russia attacked Ukraine.
Net profit jumped 35 percent to pound1.76 billion ($2.36 billion) last year, compared with 2020, BAE said in an earnings statement.
BAE profited also from a small rise in revenue and after a tough 2020 caused by Covid-19 disruptions.
Chief executive Charles Woodburn added that the “strong results reflect the outstanding efforts… to deliver capabilities which keep nations and citizens safe”.
BAE shares jumped 5.1 percent around midday on London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was down almost three percent overall.
“The risers in the FTSE 100 were few and far between with BAE Systems among them with expectations that defence budgets may be boosted in the face of Russian aggression,” noted Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
BAE said the United States, which has the world’s largest defence budget, represents about 46 percent of current company sales.
