Babcock International (LON:BAB) on Wednesday reported a 51% rise in statutory operating profit to £364 million for the year ended March 31, 2025, and announced a £200 million share buyback to be executed in fiscal year 2026.
The company cited growth in its Nuclear and Marine divisions as key drivers of the performance. Revenue rose 11% on an organic basis to £4.8 billion.
Underlying operating profit increased 17% to £363 million when excluding the prior year’s £90 million contract loss and £17 million property gain.
The underlying operating margin improved by 50 basis points to 7.5%. Underlying earnings per share increased to 50.3 pence from 30.8 pence.
Underlying free cash flow was £153 million, supported by 82% operating cash conversion. Net debt excluding leases was reduced by £110 million to £101 million. On a covenant basis, net debt to EBITDA fell to 0.3x from 0.8x.
A final dividend of 4.5 pence per share was declared, bringing the total for the year to 6.5 pence, up 30% from 5 pence in fiscal 2024. The contract backlog stood at £10.4 billion, slightly up from £10.3 billion a year earlier.
By segment, Nuclear revenue increased 19% to £1.82 billion. Underlying profit rose to £160.3 million, up from £109.2 million, and margin improved to 8.8%.
Marine revenue rose 12% to £1.58 billion, with profit increasing to £96.5 million from £13.1 million. Marine’s margin reached 6.1%.
