BAE SYSTEMS PLC
ActiveKey figures
BAE SYSTEMS PLC files its accounts at Companies House on paper. The figures here are for the whole group, taken from its annual financial report in the structured ESEF format (published on the FCA National Storage Mechanism, collected by filings.xbrl.org).
Ratios
2025Sector comparison
SIC 25400Where the company stands among the 88 active companies whose first SIC code is 25400 (Manufacture of weapons and ammunition).
- BAE SYSTEMS PLC£11.9bn
- BAE SYSTEMS GLOBAL COMBAT SYSTEMS MUNITIONS LIMITED£117m
- BAE SYSTEMS GCS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED£60.2m
- UTM LIMITED£24.9m
- FNH UK LIMITED£19.8m
- HULL CARTRIDGE COMPANY LIMITED£13.1m
- ACCURACY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED£10m
- HECKLER & KOCH (UK) LIMITED£8.8m
- ACCLES & SHELVOKE LIMITED£5.4m
- BSA GUNS (UK) LIMITED£4.6m
Positions are approximate. Figures come from each company's latest accounts; money and employee figures are compared only with companies that filed accounts in pounds for a period ending in the last two and a half years and are not dormant, so those groups are smaller than 88. The line on each bar marks the median.
Summary: BAE SYSTEMS PLC
What kind of company is it?
BAE SYSTEMS PLC is a public limited company registered with Companies House under company number 01470151. It was incorporated on 31 Dec 1979. Its status is active. The registered office is in London (SW1Y). Its nature of business (SIC 2007) is manufacture of weapons and ammunition (25400), manufacture of motor vehicles (29100), building of ships and floating structures (30110), manufacture of air and spacecraft and related machinery (30300).
How is the company doing financially?
The latest accounts in the database are for 2025 (period ending 31 Dec 2025); the company files group accounts. Turnover was £28,336,000,000. Profit for the year was £2,151,000,000. Net assets were £11,937,000,000, up 1.4% on the previous year. Cash at bank and in hand was £3,438,000,000. Total assets were £37,679,000,000 and total liabilities £25,742,000,000. Figures are available for 5 financial years (2021–2025).
How does it compare with similar companies?
Compared with 88 active companies whose first SIC code is 25400: By net assets it ranks higher than 97% of them (median £13,102). By total assets it ranks higher than 97% of them (median £135,209). By cash it ranks higher than 97% of them (median £117,976). It is older than 94% of them (median age 8.3 years).
Does it supply the public sector?
The company is named as a supplier in 8 public contract award notices from 8 public sector buyers since 2014. Contracts awarded to it alone have a combined published value of £21.3m. 3 of the awards are shared with other suppliers, typically framework agreements. It is recorded as the recipient of 9 central government grants worth £16.6m, mainly from Department for Education.
What do public registers and reports show?
It appears on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors (Global Business Mobility: Graduate Trainee, Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker, Government Authorised Exchange, Skilled Worker). HMRC lists it as an importer of goods, mainly machinery, electrical equipment, optical, medical and measuring instruments. HMRC lists it as an exporter of goods, mainly rubber, electrical equipment, machinery. In its latest payment practices report it took an average of 26 days to pay suppliers, and 4% of invoices were not paid within agreed terms. Its gender pay gap report for 2025/26 shows median hourly pay for women 6.7% lower than for men. It has modern slavery statements on the government registry for 6 years.
Who runs and controls the company?
4 of 51 registered charges are outstanding.
When are its next filings due?
The next accounts are due by 30 Jun 2027. The next confirmation statement is due by 13 Oct 2027.
Dividends
from the accountsDividends paid in the financial year: £1,114,000,000 (52% of the profit for the year).
Filed accounts2021–2025
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | 19,521,000,000 | 21,258,000,000 | 23,078,000,000 | 26,312,000,000 | 28,336,000,000 |
| Profit for the year | 1,912,000,000 | 1,674,000,000 | 1,940,000,000 | 2,041,000,000 | 2,151,000,000 |
| Cash at bank and in hand | 2,917,000,000 | 3,107,000,000 | 4,067,000,000 | 3,378,000,000 | 3,438,000,000 |
| Total assets | 27,135,000,000 | 31,462,000,000 | 32,064,000,000 | 38,142,000,000 | 37,679,000,000 |
| Total liabilities | 19,467,000,000 | 20,062,000,000 | 21,341,000,000 | 26,365,000,000 | 25,742,000,000 |
| Net assets / total equity | 7,668,000,000 | 11,400,000,000 | 10,723,000,000 | 11,777,000,000 | 11,937,000,000 |
| Dividends paid | 979,000,000 | 968,000,000 | 945,000,000 | 1,027,000,000 | 1,114,000,000 |
A dash (—) means no accounts were filed for that year or the item is not in the accounts; 0 is a zero stated in the accounts. Small companies usually file only a balance sheet, so the profit and loss account is often missing.
Public contracts
8 contractsBAE SYSTEMS PLC is named as a supplier in 8 public contract award notices from 8 public sector buyers since 2014. The 5 contracts awarded to it alone with a published value add up to £21.3m. 3 awards are shared with other suppliers and not counted in that total.
- Crown Commercial Service
- 1 contract · £10.7m
- Minister for the Cabinet Office Acting through Crown Commercial Service
- 1 contract · £5.4m
- BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL GROUP PLC
- 1 contract · £4.9m
- MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
- 1 contract · £321.9k
- Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
- 1 contract · £63.7k
- KBS/0124/T/MCS1/NK The KBS Multi Discipline Subcontractor Framework 2024KBS MARITIME LIMITED · shared by 35 suppliers, up to £147,000,000 in total · 2 lots
- Modern Apprenticeship Services - Learning Provider and Employer 2024-2025‡The Skills Development Scotland Co. Limited · shared by 36 suppliers, up to £277,790,000 in total
- MONET ACADEMIC SUPPORTMINISTRY OF DEFENCE · £321,888
- Modern Apprenticeships 2021-22 - Training Provider and Employer‡Skills Development Scotland Co. Limited · shared by 45 suppliers, up to £4,500,000 in total
- Ventilator Challenge Assignment of Intellectual Property, Design Consultancy Work and materials to Develop the BAE Florence VentilatorCrown Commercial Service · £10,707,729 · 2 lots
Show 3 more
- Ventilator Challenge Assignment of Intellectual Property, Design Consultancy Work and materials to Develop the BAE Florence Ventilator‡Minister for the Cabinet Office Acting through Crown Commercial Service · £5,353,864
- Repair of Heavy Platform Line Replacement UnitsBABCOCK INTERNATIONAL GROUP PLC · £4,875,452
- CDE37089 - Four Dimensional Additive Manufacture‡Defence Science and Technology Laboratory · £63,682
From contract award notices on Contracts Finder (since 2016) and Find a Tender (since 2021), published by the Cabinet Office under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Values are as published by the buyer and usually cover the whole contract term; the total leaves out awards shared between several suppliers, where the published figure is a ceiling for all of them, placeholder values and single figures of £1 billion or more. Notices marked ‡ do not state a company number and were linked by an exact match on the registered name. Contracts below the publication thresholds and those of devolved buyers that publish elsewhere are not included.
Government grants
9 grantsBAE SYSTEMS PLC is recorded as the recipient of 9 central government grants since 2020, together worth £16.6m.
- Department for Education
- 3 grants · £16m
- Department for Work and Pensions
- 2 grants · £265.6k
- Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- 3 grants · £233.2k
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- 1 grant · £90.3k
- Apprenticeships Participation 16 - 18Department for Education · £7,889,360
- BAE SYSTEMS PLCDepartment for Work and Pensions · £38,390 · Kickstart Scheme
- High-BIAS2: High-Bandwidth Inertial Atom Source & SensorDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £108,318 · UKRI - ISCF - Scheme 22/23
- BAE SYSTEMS PLCDepartment for Work and Pensions · £227,215 · Kickstart Scheme
- High-BIAS2: High-Bandwidth Inertial Atom Source & SensorDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £99,901 · ALB - UKRI - Innovate UK grant awards in 20-21
Show 4 more
- Mid-IR Upconversion Single-photon detection (MIRUS)Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £24,978 · ALB - UKRI - Innovate UK grant awards in 20-21
- Apprenticeships Participation 16 - 18Department for Education · £4,607,930
- Apprenticeships Participation 18+Department for Education · £3,489,599
- High-BIAS2: High-Bandwidth Inertial Atom Source & SensorDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £90,327 · UKRI - ISCF - Scheme
From the Government Grants Register published by the Cabinet Office (financial years 2016/17 onwards, Open Government Licence v3.0). It covers grants from central government departments and their agencies where the register states the recipient's company number and the recipient name matches this company; grants from local authorities, lottery distributors and devolved governments are not included.
Statutory reporting
- Average time taken to pay invoices
- 26 days
- Invoices not paid within agreed terms
- 4%
- Standard payment terms
- 1–61 days
- Within 30 days 73%
- 31 to 60 days 26%
- After 60 days 1%
Earlier periods (7)
- Period ending
- Days to pay
- Within 30 days
- Late
- 31 Dec 2025
- 24
- 78%
- 4%
- 30 Jun 2025
- 29
- 76%
- 4%
- 31 Dec 2024
- 26
- 79%
- 3%
- 30 Jun 2024
- 32
- 74%
- 2%
- 31 Dec 2023
- 31
- 70%
- 2%
- 30 Jun 2023
- 30
- 51%
- 3%
- 31 Dec 2022
- 31
- 52%
- 2%
- Median hourly pay
- women 6.7% lower
- Mean hourly pay
- women 8.4% lower
- Median bonus pay
- women 12% lower
- Employer size
- 5000 to 19,999 employees
Earlier years (8)
- Year
- Median hourly pay
- Mean hourly pay
- 2024/25
- women 8.1% lower
- women 6.1% lower
- 2023/24
- women 7.8% lower
- women 5.8% lower
- 2022/23
- women 14.4% lower
- women 17.3% lower
- 2021/22
- women 14.1% lower
- women 16% lower
- 2020/21
- women 15.3% lower
- women 18.4% lower
- 2019/20
- women 14.7% lower
- women 17% lower
- 2018/19
- women 13.8% lower
- women 15.4% lower
- 2017/18
- women 15.6% lower
- women 17.3% lower
A positive gap means women's average hourly pay is lower than men's across the whole employer; it is not a comparison of pay for the same work. View on the Gender pay gap service
- 2026
- Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement
- 2025
- Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement
- 2024
- Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (BAE SYSTEMS MARINE LIMITED)
Earlier years (3)
- 2022
- Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (BAE SYSTEMS MARINE LIMITED)
- 2021
- Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (BAE SYSTEMS MARINE LIMITED)
- 2020
- Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (BAE SYSTEMS MARINE LIMITED)
Figures the company reported itself to the government's Check payment practices service, Gender pay gap service and Modern slavery statement registry (Open Government Licence v3.0). Only large companies and employers with 250 or more staff have to report, so most companies have nothing here.
Registers and licences
- Licence type and rating
- Temporary Worker (A rating), Worker (A rating)
- Routes
- Global Business Mobility: Graduate Trainee, Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker, Government Authorised Exchange, Skilled Worker
On the Home Office register of licensed sponsors, which lists organisations licensed to sponsor workers from overseas.
Listed by HMRC as an importer of goods in 12 of the last 12 months on record, most recently August 2026. Main goods: machinery, electrical equipment, optical, medical and measuring instruments, aircraft and iron and steel articles.
Listed by HMRC as an exporter of goods in 12 of the last 12 months on record, most recently August 2026. Main goods: rubber, electrical equipment, machinery, optical, medical and measuring instruments and aluminium.
From HMRC's monthly lists of importers and exporters. Traders can ask to be left off the lists, so absence does not mean a company does not trade.
Sources: Charity Commission for England and Wales, Care Quality Commission, Home Office and HM Revenue & Customs, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Entries marked ‡ come from lists that do not state a company number and were linked by an exact match on the registered name.
History
6 events- Financial year 2025 endedAccounts: turnover £28.3bn, net assets £11.9bn
- Financial year 2024 endedAccounts: turnover £26.3bn, net assets £11.8bn
- Financial year 2023 endedAccounts: turnover £23.1bn, net assets £10.7bn
- Financial year 2022 endedAccounts: turnover £21.3bn, net assets £11.4bn
- Financial year 2021 endedAccounts: turnover £19.5bn, net assets £7.7bn
- Company incorporatedPublic limited company
Dates as recorded at Companies House: incorporation, name changes, officer appointments and resignations, current persons with significant control, and the end of each financial year with figures in the database. Former persons with significant control are not listed.