Babcock International orders remain 'buoyant' Both civil and military markets have remained strong as customers "seek increased efficiency and improved availability of assets," said the business in a trading update for the six months to September 30. The order book has remained stable at around £13 billion, thanks to a regular flow of small contracts and extensions of previous deals. The business claims that the economic downturn presents an opportunity for growth as clients seek to outsource maintenance work. Babcock has already secured contracts worth 90pc of expected revenue for 2012/2013, and 50pc for 2013/2014. In May Babcock, which maintains British Royal Navy submarines, reported a pre-tax profit of £274.1m for the year to the end of March on revenues 14pc higher at £3.07bn. Governments around the world have cut defence spending as they look to cut budget deficits but Babcock said at the time that it believed its focus on services and maintenance put it in a strong position.