Annual Report • Mar 31, 2021
Annual Report
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This notice advises you that you can read the full BAE Systems plc Annual Report 2020 and Notice of Annual General Meeting online at: www.baesystems.com/reporting
It also provides a brief overview of our performance in 2020. For more information on e-communications, see the back page of this document.
I am writing to advise you that the Company's Annual Report for 2020 has been published together with the Notice of Annual General Meeting. These documents are available to be viewed on the Company's AGM website page that you can access at: www.baesystems.com/reporting.
Our preference had been to welcome shareholders in person to our 2021 AGM, particularly given the constraints we faced in holding the 2020 meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, at the time that this document goes to print, England is still in national lockdown and, under the UK government's current COVID-19 regulations (National Lockdown in England), individuals must not leave their home except where permitted by law, which precludes shareholders' attendance at AGMs. The UK government's 'COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021' guidance sets out a roadmap out of lockdown which would continue to preclude shareholders' attendance at AGMs by 6 May 2021.
Consequently, the meeting will be held at 10.30am on 6 May 2021 at Hall 1, Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre, Farnborough, Hampshire with just a small number of directors present to meet the minimum attendance required to form a quorum and comply with COVID-19 regulations.
However, we have taken steps to ensure that you can submit questions on the resolutions and vote electronically before the meeting, and also listen remotely to the real-time proceedings of the AGM. Further details are provided on the enclosed Voting Instruction Card.
The Company's Articles of Association do not, at present, contain provisions specifically providing for shareholder meetings to be held remotely. We are, however, seeking shareholder approval for a change to be made to the Articles, which, if passed, will allow future AGMs to be held with attendees present both physically and via electronic means.
Opposite you will see the top-level financial figures in respect of the Company's performance in 2020 and, overleaf, an overview of the different businesses within the BAE Systems Group. This is just a brief summary and is not a substitute for the full Annual Report that can be accessed online.
The Board has recommended a final dividend of 14.3p per share making a total of 23.7p per share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2020, an increase of 2% over the dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2019. Subject to shareholder approval at the 2021 AGM, the 2020 final dividend will be paid on 1 June 2021 to shareholders registered on 23 April 2021.
Yours sincerely

Sir Roger Carr Chairman 31 March 2021

Sales1
£20,862m (2019 £20,109m)
Underlying EBITA2
£2,132m (2019 £2,117m)
46.8p (2019 45.8p) (2019 50.8p)
Excluding one-off Including one-off tax benefit tax benefit
£1,367m £367m
Before £1bn UK pension After £1bn UK pension scheme contribution scheme contribution (2019 £850m)

Order intake6

Order backlog7
£45.2bn
(2019 £45.4bn)
Dividend per share
23.7p 13.8p
(2019 9.4p) interim dividend in respect of 2019 performance
It is recommended that you read the full Notice of Annual General Meeting before taking a decision on how to vote at the Annual General Meeting. It is also recommended that you read the full BAE Systems plc Annual Report 2020. This notice does not set out the matters on which shareholders are being asked to vote at the Annual General Meeting and is not a substitute for such documents. If you have sold or otherwise transferred all your shares in BAE Systems plc, please forward this document at once to the purchaser or transferee or to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected for transmission to the purchaser or transferee. If you have sold or otherwise transferred only part of your holding of shares, you should retain this document.
Sales1 increased by £0.8bn to £20.9bn (2019 £20.1bn), a 4% increase on a constant currency basis8.
Underlying EBITA2 increased to £2,132m (2019 £2,117m), giving a return on sales9 of 10.2% (2019 10.5%). Excluding the impact of exchange translation, the increase was 1%.
Underlying earnings per share3 for the year increased by 2% to 46.8p (2019 45.8p, excluding the one-off tax benefit).
Free cash flow4 was £367m (2019 £850m), which includes the impact of the Group's £1bn contribution into the UK pension scheme. The remaining inflow reflects the Group's strong focus on liquidity.
Net debt5 increased to £2,718m, following the £1bn bond issuance to fund the UK pension scheme and the \$2.2bn (£1.7bn) acquisitions of the Airborne Tactical Radios and Military Global Positioning System businesses.
Order intake6 increased by £2.5bn to £20,915m (2019 £18,447m).
Order backlog7 decreased by £0.2bn to £45.2bn.
Final dividend of 14.3p per share making a total of 23.7p per share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2020. We monitor the underlying financial performance of the Group using alternative performance measures. These measures are not defined in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and, therefore, are considered to be non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) measures. The relevant IFRS measures are presented on page 21 of the Annual Report 2020.

Electronic Systems, with 16,60010 employees, comprises the US- and UK-based electronics activities, including electronic warfare systems, navigation systems, electro-optical sensors, military and commercial digital engine and flight controls, precision guidance and seeker solutions, next-generation military communications systems and data links, persistent surveillance capabilities, space electronics and electric drive propulsion systems.
Sales1
£4,557m
– Demand in the commercial business lines of Controls & Avionics Solutions and Power & Propulsion Solutions has been negatively impacted by COVID-19.
Cyber & Intelligence, with 9,70010 employees, comprises the US-based Intelligence & Security business and UK-headquartered Applied Intelligence business, and covers the Group's cyber security, secure government and commercial financial security activities.
£1,812m

Platforms & Services (US), with 12,60010 employees, and operations in the US, UK and Sweden, manufactures and upgrades combat vehicles, weapons and munitions, and delivers services and sustainment activities, including naval ship repair, and the management and operation of government-owned munitions facilities.

Air, with 29,30010 employees, comprises the Group's UK-based air activities for European and International Markets, and US Programmes, and its businesses in Saudi Arabia and Australia, together with its 37.5% interest in the European MBDA joint venture.

Maritime, with 17,40010 employees, comprises the Group's UK-based maritime and land activities.
£3,503m


At BAE Systems, we provide some of the world's most advanced, technology-led defence, aerospace and security solutions.
We employ a skilled workforce of 89,6001 people in more than 40 countries. We help our customers to stay a step ahead when protecting people and national security, critical infrastructure and vital information. We also work closely with local partners to support economic development through the transfer of knowledge, skills and technology.
| Financial year end | 31 December |
|---|---|
| Annual General Meeting | 6 May 2021 |
| 2020 final ordinary dividend payable | 1 June 2021 |
| 2021 half-yearly results announcement | 29 July 2021 |
| 2021 interim ordinary dividend payable | 30 November 2021 |
| 2021 full-year results: – preliminary announcement – Annual Report |
February 2022 March 2022 |
| 2021 final ordinary dividend payable | June 2022 |
BAE Systems plc
6 Carlton Gardens London SW1Y 5AD United Kingdom www.baesystems.com Registered in England and Wales, No. 1470151 © BAE Systems plc 2021. All rights reserved


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All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this document, including, without limitation, those regarding the financial condition, results, operations and businesses of BAE Systems and its strategy, plans and objectives and the markets and economies in which it operates, are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management's assumptions made on the basis of information available to it at this time, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors which could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of BAE Systems or the markets and economies in which BAE Systems operates to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. BAE Systems plc and its directors accept no liability to third parties in respect of this report save as would arise under English law.

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