UK aerospace revenue up thanks to 'extraordinary' year

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Revenue was up 5.4% to £22 billion while orders were 10.4% down at £32.2 billion, a report from aerospace, defence and security organisation ADS showed.

Defence accounted for 52% of the revenue figure last year, while aerospace and defence workforce levels remained steady at just over 100,000.

Research and development spending was down 7.4% to £1.74 billion and overall sales to the US - mainly in defence - fell by 20%.

ADS chairman Ian Godden said: "Last year was tough for the whole aerospace industry given the wider context of the global downturn but these results demonstrate the resilience of the UK-based part of the sector.

"Overall this is an extraordinary performance during a worldwide recession, with an increase in revenues, a rise in productivity and stability within our 100,000-strong highly-skilled workforce."

Despite Godden's caution he pointed out that Britain's aerospace sector was the biggest in Europe and second to the US globally.

But he warned: "This current UK success and the strength to ride out the worst of the recession are based on long-term, sustained investment in the past, especially in R&D (research and development) and workforce development.

"A decline in such investment over the past two years in our surveys is a cause for concern, especially in the context of further cuts anticipated in defence.

"Although the downwards trend in R&D spending is somewhat expected in the short term during a recession, the industry will have to reverse this now that the economy is showing signs of picking up."