British defence contractor Babcock (BAB.L) took a one-off charge of 120 million pounds to reshape its business on Wednesday and warned that revenue from its nuclear decommissioning division would drop more than expected. First-half revenue fell 2.3 percent to 2.58 billion pounds versus analyst expectations of 2.61 billion pounds, according to Refinitiv data. Babcock, whose biggest customer is Britain’s Ministry of Defence due to roles such as the maintenance of its naval fleet, has come under close scrutiny in recent weeks after an anonymous research group questioned the management of the business. Babcock has been hit by delays in government spending and poor investor sentiment in the outsourcing sector, and shares have fallen 17.6 pct versus a 11.35 percent decline in the FTSE 250 index over 3 months, and by one fifth over the past year. It said on Wednesday it had lowered its expectations for revenue and profit coming from its contract to decommission Magnox nuclear sites.
Reuters 21st Nov 2018 read more »