Chemring reported a surge in orders in the first half of the year as the British defence specialist benefited from a ramp-up in government spending in the wake of the war in Ukraine and heightened geopolitical tensions in Asia-Pacific.
Mick Ord, chief executive, said the FTSE 250 company had seen a “fundamental change in the security landscape” over the past 18 months. Chemring saw its order book increase to a record £750mn, spurred by higher spending on munitions and missile systems.
The company’s countermeasures & energetics business supplies materials and components for a range of missile systems including the Javelin anti-tank missile built by Lockheed Martin. The UK group also supplies explosives and propellants to a range of larger defence contractors. Order intake at the division was £238mn, up 113 per cent over the six-month period.
Ord said the Ukraine conflict, as well as the Biden administration’s policy pivot from “counterinsurgency to re-equipping…