Babcock reveals £3.8bn order book

Support services company Babcock International has stated that the current financial year has begun well for the company.

In his statement at the company's annual general meeting, chairman Gordon Campbell revealed that Babcock’s order book stands at £3.8bn after a number of contracts had been concluded, with awards worth over £800m in total.

Babcock has recently moved into the international submarine support market as part of its expansion strategy, and has been awarded the Canadian in-service support contract.

Campbell said: “The board believes that in addition to recent contract wins, the markets in which we operate, the strong relationships we have with our customers and the technical expertise within our business all provide us with significant opportunities to achieve growth over the long term.”

The chairman went on to confirm that he will step down later this year after eight years in the job. He will be succeeded by Mike Turner, the retiring chief executive of BAE Systems, as non-executive chairman.

“I am certain that this management team under Mike will continue the progress,” said Campbell. “As one of our larger investors said recently 'It is not often we make five times our money and still have a business which is capable of making the FTSE 100.'”