Exceptionally high levels of inflation (10 percent plus) and the soaring interest rates (4.5 percent) imposed in a bid to suppress them are the biggest single headache facing UK aerospace and defense companies, according to the country’s trade association ADS. The resulting squeeze on finances is impeding the ability of companies to make the investments needed to overcome continuing supply chain logjams that, in turn, are constraining output and therefore revenues, the group’s CEO, Kevin Craven, confirmed at a press briefing this week to present a summary of the British industry’s performance in 2022.
Nonetheless, the numbers are generally encouraging, reflecting progress last year after the Covid-blighted 2021. In the aerospace sector, revenues grew by 20 percent from £22.4 billion ($27.8 billion) to £27 billion, while exports increased in value from £15.2 billion to £18.6 billion and the value added to the UK economy climbed from £8 billion to £10.9 billion.
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