BAE Systems says its financial performance so far this year is 'in line with expectations'.

The defence company gave an update on its trading performance for the first quarter as it held its annual general meeting.

BAE's chief executive Charles Woodburn said the AUKUS trilateral defence agreement would be 'significant' for the company.

"Trading so far this year has been in line with expectations with continued good operational performance," he said.

“Order flow on new programmes, renewals and progress on our opportunity pipeline remains strong.

"In particular, the AUKUS announcement in March is significant for the company in the medium and long-term and we look forward to supporting our customers in this far reaching programme.

“In the current elevated global threat environment, we’re continuing to deliver mission critical requirements to our customers, and our global presence and diverse portfolio of products and services provide a high visibility for top line growth, margin expansion and cash generation in the coming years.”

Barrow is due to play a major role in the AUKUS defence agreement between the UK, the US and Australia.

The UK and Australia will both build new submarines as part of the AUKUS defence agreement between the two countries and the USA, with construction of the UK’s submarines taking place in Barrow.

The first UK SSN-AUKUS submarines built by BAE and Rolls-Royce and will be delivered in the late 2030s to replace the current Astute-Class vessels, with the first Australian submarines following in the early 2040s.

In other announcements, the group’s full year 2023 guidance is unchanged from the preliminary announcement in February.

The company said delivery of programmes was looking 'good across all sectors', pointing out milestones including the start of construction of the third Dreadnought submarine in Barrow. 

Sir Roger Carr is stepping down as chairman of the board having served his full allowable term.

He is being succeeded by Cressida Hogg who has served as a non-executive director of the company and chair designate since November.