Ultra Electronics Won't Be Hit Much By UK Budget Cuts

2nd Aug 2010 09:13

By Jason Douglas Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Defense electronics company Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC (ULE.LN) Monday said it doesn't anticipate being badly hit by cuts to U.K. government spending on defense, as the company eyes more opportunities in the U.S.. Chief Executive Douglas Caster told reporters core U.S. spending on defense is expected to grow at about 3% a year. The core defense budget doesn't include supplemental funds being spent in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are coming under pressure but which Ultra has little exposure to, said Caster. Spending on areas like unmanned systems, advanced electronics for warships and cyber security is expected to grow, he said. Ultra estimates there's about $180 billion to $190 billion of U.S. business it could go for so there's "huge headroom to grow", Caster said. The U.K. defense budget is facing cuts but Ultra gets just 12% of its revenue from the U.K., Caster said. -By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires August 02, 2010 04:13 ET (08:13 GMT)