World is scariest it’s been since Cold War, BAE Systems boss warns
The world is “probably the scariest it’s been” since the Cold War, the chief financial officer of FTSE 100 defence giant BAE Systems has warned.
Brad Greve said the governments BAE Systems supplies “see a risk environment that’s unprecedented” and that the company’s “mission of protecting those who protect us is more important than it has ever been”.
On an upcoming episode of CityAM‘s Boardroom Uncovered podcast, Greve made the comments in response to a question about the correlation between the world getting more dangerous and the rise in his company’s share price.
BAE Systems’ share price was just under 600p when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 while its stock is changing hands for around 1,600p today.
Analysts have also forecast the FTSE 100 giant‘s revenue will grow by an average of 8.1 per cent annually and earnings are expected to rise by approximately 11.2 per cent per year through to the end of 2028.
BAE Systems’ share price is also predicted to rise to around 2,121p in the next year.
The ‘spectre of Russia’ is out there – BAE Systems boss
Greve said: “It’s just the nature of our industry that when geopolitical risks increase we do get an effect on our share price.
“The way we look at it in our company is that we very much understand that we work for our allied governments.
“They see a risk environment that’s unprecedented. So we recognise that our mission of protecting those who protect us is more important than it has ever been.
“So helping our government customers navigate this risk environment that is really, since the Cold War, probably the scariest it’s been – we understand our role in that.
“It’s a hugely motivating factor in how we go to work every morning.”
The CFO of BAE Systems added that there is an “unprecedented amount of Russian threat across the UK” and cited defence secretary John Healy saying in October there had been a 30 per cent increase.
Greve added that there is the “spectre of Russia” threatening the UK and that the nature of that challenge is “changing months on months”.