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Investing.com -- BAE Systems (LON:BAES) raised its full-year guidance after reporting a double-digit increase in first-half sales, driven by major U.S. contract wins and strong performance in its Platforms & Services (P&S) division.
Still, the company’s shares slipped 2.7% in London as of 08:10 GMT.
The defense and aerospace group said sales rose 11% year-on-year to £14.62 billion ($19.52 billion) in the first half, coming in 1% above consensus.
The increase was supported by key U.S. deals, including an $800 million contract with the U.S. Air Force for support services and a $1.2 billion award from the U.S. Space Systems Command for missile-tracking satellites.
Platforms & Services stood out, with revenue coming in 10% above expectations and EBIT 21% ahead of consensus.
BAE now expects full-year sales to grow between 8% and 10%, up from its previous forecast of 7% to 9%. It also raised its guidance for underlying EBIT growth to a range of 9% to 11%, from 8% to 10% previously.
The earnings per share (EPS) growth guidance was unchanged at 8-10%.
First-half underlying EBIT rose 13% to £1.55 billion, slightly ahead of the £1.52 billion estimate from Vuma. EPS were at 34.7p, 2% ahead of consensus.
This was "another solid set of results demonstrating consistent strength in operational and financial performance," Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analyst Ross Law said.
Separately, Jefferies analysts were more cautious in their comments, noting that the "limited guide increase could disappoint."
The team said the absence of an upgrade to BAE’s EPS guidance was due to the strong share price performance in the first half, which led to fewer shares being repurchased, along with a slightly higher tax rate.
They also noted that with the current spot £/$ at 1.335, the average rate for 2025 would be around 1.32—“4 cents above the 1.28 on which the group’s guidance is based.”
"No divisional variation is provided vs. the prior divisional guides," the broker added.
Net profit in the first half rose to £969 million, beating the consensus of £806 million.
Meanwhile, order intake fell to £13.2 billion from £15.1 billion a year ago, missing the £14.1 billion consensus and bringing the total backlog to £75.4 billion.