Chemring FY revenue plunges amid defence budget cuts

22nd Jan 2015 15:19

Government cuts to their military spending and falling demand saw defence group Chemring's full-year revenues decline as losses widened.In the year ended 31 October, revenue declined to £474.9m from £624.9m a year earlier, while pre-tax profit on an underlying basis fell to £30.3m from £51.6m."Against a backdrop of a subdued defence market, we see clear opportunities for future revenue growth and improving margins, although risks remain due to continued difficulty in predicting the timing of orders," said group chief executive Michael Flowers.Flowers, who was appointed last June, added the period had been "important and challenging" for the group.The year, Flowers said, had seen a "strengthened position on major future US, NATO and broader global programmes", but the group had been forced to adjust to a new spending environment."We are well-positioned on strategic programmes in the US, with success in capturing research and development phases of both counter-IED and chemical detection programmes," he said."Our immediate priorities are to secure orders in NATO and the Middle East for our US Sensors & Electronics products, while continuing to improve the performance of all our manufacturing operations."Chemring shares were up 0.87% to 232.25p at 15:38 on Thursday.