Babcock lifts annual profit, revenue guidance

(Sharecast News) - UK defence contractor Babcock upgraded full-year expectations on the back of double-digit organic growth in its nuclear operations and strong growth in the marine division. The company said it now expects revenue in the year to March 31 to come in at £4.9bn compared with forecasts of £4.51bn - £4.78bn and underlying operating profit to beat the top end of a £327.1m - £339.7m range.

Babcock on Thursday said its first-half strong trading performance had continued throughout the third quarter of the year, and the preliminary view of performance in January was also "encouraging".

"In nuclear, growth is driven by increased new build and decommissioning work in civil nuclear, as well as increased submarine support activity and higher than originally expected infrastructure revenues. In marine, the growth is enhanced by higher LGE volumes as well as the ramp-up of the (UK military satellite) Skynet programme," the company said on Thursday.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com