Financial performance measures as defined by the Group1
- Sales increased by 6% on a constant currency basis5 to £10.0bn.
- Underlying EBIT of £1,028m increased by 27% on a constant currency basis5.
- Underlying earnings per share increased by 25% to 21.9p, excluding the impact of the one-off tax benefit. The Group's underlying effective tax rate (excluding the one-off tax benefit) for the first half of the year was 18%.
- Free cash inflow of £461m (2020 outflow of £110m, excluding the £1bn pension contribution).
- Net debt (excluding lease liabilities) at £2,745m (£2,718m at 31 December 2020).
- Order backlog of £44.6bn (£45.2bn at 31 December 2020).
Financial performance measures derived from IFRS2
- Revenue increased by 2% to £9.3bn.
- Operating profit increased by 61% to £1,303m.
- Basic earnings per share increased to 31.3p (2020 16.7p).
- Net cash inflow from operating activities of £623m (2020 £727m outflow).
- Order book of £35.5bn (£36.3bn at 31 December 2020).
Dividend and share buyback
The directors have declared an interim dividend of 9.9p per share in respect of the half year ended 30 June 2021. This dividend will be payable on 30 November 2021. The directors have also approved a new share buyback programme of up to £500m over the next 12 months, which will commence immediately.
The directors have declared an interim dividend of 9.9p per ordinary share in respect of the period ended 30 June 2021, totalling approximately £320m. This will be paid on 30 November 2021 to shareholders registered on 22 October 2021. The ex-dividend date is 21 October 2021. This is in line with our usual dividend timetable.
Shareholders who do not at present participate in the Company's Dividend Reinvestment Plan and wish to receive the final dividend in shares rather than cash should complete a mandate form for the Dividend Reinvestment Plan and return it to the registrars for receipt no later than 5 November 2021.
https://www.investegate.co.uk/bae-syste ... 00078281G/