Прибыль верфи Devonport выросла на 56 млн фунтов при выплате 6 млн на закрытие пенсионной программы

Devonport Dockyard has seen another huge leap in profits despite paying nearly £6m to settle a closed pension scheme. Newly released accounts for Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd (DRDL) showed the company made an operating profit of £131,875,000 in the year to the end of March 2026. This was up by £55,959,000 on the profit a year earlier. Revenue jumped to more than £1.867bn from £1.749bn in 2024/25 and £1.522bn in 2023/24. DRDL maintains and refits Royal Navy warships and submarines, provides engineering services to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) at Devonport Dockyard and HM Naval Base Clyde, after it took over fellow Babcock International Group Plc subsidiary Babcock Marine (Clyde) Ltd in 2023. It also provides a range of other technical and engineering services primarily to the MoD. Overall, it employs more than 10,000 staff and has a wage bill, including pension contributions and other payments, of £670m. The annual report said the increase in profit was largely attributable to an increase in advanced capital allowances which reduced the deferred tax charge for the year. There was also an increase in bank interest received from another company in the group under the Babcock banking arrangements. Net assets jumped from £467.9m to £584.7m during the year. The report said this was largely driven due to cash generated from trading during the year which had been transferred to another company under Babcock’s banking arrangements, and was therefore presented on the balance sheet as an £80.6m increase in the value of amounts due from group undertakings. The report said: “The increase in net assets is also driven by a £28.2m increase in property, plant and equipment reflecting the company's continued commitment to investing in its infrastructure.” The annual report said the company is in talks with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over a five-and-a-half-year replacement deal for the Terms of Business Agreement (ToBA) and Future Maritime Support Program (FMSP) contracts, which expire at the end of this month (September 2026). The report said discussions on this Gateway Agreement (GA) are “progressing well”, with heads of terms in place since April 2025 and the GA contract subject to direct award under single source contract regulations. The report said that following closure of the BIG Pension Scheme there was a one-off charge of £5.9m to derecognise the scheme surplus. During the year, the company continued to maintain the nuclear-powered Vanguard and Astute class submarine flotilla based at Devonport and Clyde. The final Trafalgar submarines were taken out of service in 2025 and continue to be prepared in Devonport for long term storage. During the year, maintenance work continued in dry dock on the first Astute class submarine, HMS Audacious. Similarly, the Vanguard class submarine HMS Victorious continued her deep maintenance period. The company also progressed design and construction work relating to the strategic infrastructure upgrades required to support future deep maintenance and dismantling of new, existing and old naval vessels. The report said: “This work continues to increase through detailed design and construction as the site is recapitalised to support the boat programme.” DRDL also continues to support the surface ship flotilla based at Devonport and support a continuous programme of warship upkeep and upgrade projects for the Type 23 frigates. The report said the company will continue to work with the MoD to determine long term arrangements for delivering and supporting current and future classes of surface warships and submarines. This will include design and assessment work on the planned successor deterrent and attack submarines, new classes of surface warship, and modernisation of infrastructure to support future submarine and warship programmes. This includes supporting the international submarine project SSN-AUKUS, to establish a nuclear-powered submarine capability for the Australian Ministry of Defence. The report said: “We remain confident the company will continue to benefit from the strength of the relationship with the MoD. “In particular, the company is engaged in ongoing discussions with the MoD in respect of a Gateway Agreement that will replace the FMSP contract. “The directors are confident about the future trading prospects of the company due to its current order book, the UK Government’s commitment to nuclear and marine spending growth under the Defence Investment Plan issued in June 2026, as well as the current geopolitical situation in the world driving market opportunities for defence spending.” Click here to join PlymouthLive on WhatsApp and we'll send breaking news and top stories directly to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .