Earnings cool at BAE Systems

BAE Systems posted a fall in profits as it kickstarted talks with the Australian government over its £20 billion contract to build warships.

For the six months ended 30 June, operating profit dropped 11 per cent to £792 million, compared with £885m a year earlier.

Sales were down 3 per cent to £8.8 billion over the period, which BAE said was due to lower production of Typhoon jets.