Thanks to the Ukraine war, BAE Systems has turned from pariah to saviour among many fastidious investors. President Zelensky’s latest appeal for more materiel, on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion, has renewed the focus on arms manufacturers. The timing could hardly have been better when BAE Systems, which builds a range of weapons from Eurofighter Typhoon jets to nuclear submarines, missiles, bombs and bullets, chose last week to unveil buoyant annual results.
Sales and underlying earnings before interest and tax both rose by 9 per cent, to £25.2 billion and £2.68 billion, respectively, taking its earnings per share from 55.5p to 63.2p and prompting a rise in this year’s dividend from 27p to 30p.
Notably, during 2023 the British government demanded an eightfold increase
