Contract wins and acquisitions helped defence support services group Babcock International (LON:BAB) boost annual underlying pre-tax profit by 32% to £417.7mln.
Babcock’s order book rose during the year to £20bn at the end of March from about £11.5bn last time.
Deals included contracts for Magnox civil nuclear decommissioning and vehicle maintenance for the London Fire Brigade and the Ministry of Defence.
“The order book gives us excellent visibility of future revenues and we started the 2015/16 financial year with more than 80% of anticipated revenue for the year already contracted,” the group said in its results statement.
Babcock also said the integration of Avincis, which it has re-branded as Mission Critical Services (MCS), had progressed well.
Statutory pre-tax profit in the year to the end of March increased to £313.1mln from £218.8mln a year earlier as revenue rose to £4bn from £3.32bn. Revenue including its share of joint venture and associates' revenue rose to £4.5bn, from £3.55bn.
Babcock raised its full-year dividend to 23.6p, from 21.4p, to reflect the improved financial performance.
It voiced continued confidence about long-term prospects and predicted further good progress in this financial year.
Chief executive Peter Rogers said: "Babcock performed strongly last year, both organically and through acquisitions. We achieved double digit organic growth in revenue and operating profit driven by major contract wins and by expanding the size and scope of existing contracts. Growth from marine and technology and support services has been particularly compelling.
"Our recent acquisitions have continued to perform in line with our expectations and have created an excellent platform for future growth.”