Engineering company Babcock International saw underlying profits fall by around 40 per cent in the first quarter of the financial year.

And the firm, which has bases in Staverton and Tewkesbury, will not be paying a final dividend for the last financial year.

Babcock, which mainly works in defence and civil nuclear markets, saw revenue from its core business slightly.

But with productivity and costs affected by the coronavirus pandemic, underlying revenue fell by 11 per cent compared with last year.

Babcock secured around £500million of new aviation contracts in July with order intake in the quarter at around £700 million.

At the end of June, the group's order book was worth £17.3billion.

Chairman Ruth Cairnie said: "We continue to deliver critical programmes for our customers but our financial performance is being impacted by the challenges created by COVID-19.

"Given the continued uncertainty over the impacts of the pandemic, we are not giving detailed financial guidance for the year at this stage.

"Our experience of the pandemic so far has demonstrated that the foundations of our business - long term programmes in critical and non-discretionary areas - provide a solid platform for delivery in the medium term."

She said dividend payments would resume as early as possible.