BAE chief to stay in place while ‘successor’ learns ropes

BAE Systems boss Ian King will remain at the helm of the defence giant into next year with his successor, chief operating officer Charles Woodburn, not expected to take over the reins until after the annual results.

Revealing the defence giant’s halfyear figures, which showed revenue £200m up on last year at £8.7bn, and operating profit rising £76m to £776m, Mr King said he would be “delivering the full-year results next year”.

In February, BAE announced oil industry executive Mr Woodburn would be joining the company as COO, where he would learn the industry, having had no previous experience in the sector. BAE said his elevation to the top job was not certain, but insiders consider it a fait accompli and are speculating when Mr King will hand over control.

Commenting on the performance of the world’s third-biggest defence group by revenue over the half year, Mr King said the company had “performed well, despite economic and political uncertainties”, though the results did note that the revenue rise was largely due to currency movements.

In an increasing dangerous world, Mr King said “governments in BAE’s major markets are prioritising national security”. Brexit is expected to have little impact on BAE, he said, and added that the US, where the company generates about 40pc of revenue, is seeing an increase in defence spending.

The huge Successor nuclear submarine programme for the Royal Navy is “progressing well”, according to the chief executive.

BAE’s order book fell by £500m compared with six months ago, and now stands at £36.3bn. The dividend was lifted by 0.2p to 8.6p.

‘Governments in BAE’s major markets are prioritising national security’