Defence giant Chemring sees profits shoot up a third from booming sales

An explosive performance by Chemring saw shares surge to their highest level in eight years today, highlighting the appeal of the defence sector in these turbulent times.

The FTSE 250 index company, whose products include sensors used in air defence detection systems and countermeasures used by military aircraft to fool ground-to-air missiles, jumped 12% or 32p to 303p after posting better-than-expected annual results.

Profits rose 31% to £51.7 million for the year to October 31, while CEO Michael Ord said 78% of expected order book revenues for the current financial year had already been secured as the company benefits from resilient defence budgets.

Demand for its products has come from far and wide, with its Chicago site responsible for niche energetic devices helping to support manned US space missions.

Chemring's performance was one of the highlights from another mixed session as worries mount over tightening Covid-19 restrictions in Europe and the United States.

Those demand fears were offset by encouraging data from China's economy, with industrial output growing at the fastest pace in 20 months and retail sales also up 5% last month.