{"text":[[{"start":8.074,"text":"BAE Systems raised its profit and sales outlook for the year as it reported a surge in orders, as Britain’s defence champion continued to reap the benefits of higher military spending."}],[{"start":19.331,"text":"The FTSE 100 group, which builds the UK’s nuclear submarines and fighter jets as well as producing missiles and ammunition for Nato allies, on Thursday said it expected underlying operating profit to rise between 10 and 12 per cent this year, up from 9 to 11 per cent previously."}],[{"start":35.981,"text":"BAE forecast that sales would increase by 8 to 10 per cent, up from a previous forecast of 7 to 9 per cent."}],[{"start":43.528,"text":"Chief executive Charles Woodburn said the “global threat picture remains highly volatile and governments are responding with sustained increases in their defence budgets”."}],[{"start":53.382,"text":"Order intake in the first half was £16.4bn, taking the company’s backlog to £84bn. New contracts included the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet, missiles as well as space and mission systems."}],[{"start":67.22,"text":"BAE’s order intake does not yet include some recent high-profile contract awards, including money to fund work on a new stealth fighter along with its Italian and Japanese partners in the Global Combat Air Programme."}],[{"start":78,"text":"BAE on Thursday also secured a £5.9bn investment in the next stage of the project to build four new nuclear-armed Dreadnought submarines. They will eventually replace the ageing Vanguard fleet that makes up Britain’s continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent."}],[{"start":93.6,"text":"BAE said sales in the first half were £15.8bn, an increase of 9 per cent on a constant currency basis and beating analyst expectations."}],[{"start":103.36,"text":"Underlying earnings before interest and tax were up 11 per cent to £1.7bn. Free cash flow soared to £1.8bn due to advance payments by government customers."}],[{"start":115.2,"text":"BAE’s combination of “proven execution, diverse geographic footprint and continued investment in our technology and facilities . . . positions us to keep delivering long-term growth”, Woodburn said."}],[{"start":130.24,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785402783_5536.mp3"}