BAE Systems raises dividend, launches new buyback on strong outlook

British defence company BAE Systems lifted annual guidance thanks to a good operational performance and said as a result it planned to raise the dividend by 5% and launch a 500 million pound ($697 million) share buyback programme.

For the full-year, BAE said it expected underlying earnings per share to grow by 3% to 5% over last year's result, even if higher exchange rates continue, an improvement on previous forecasts. ($1 = 0.7177 pounds)