Babcock International has reported “good” organic revenue growth through three quarters of its financial year, as the defence giant also confirmed that its CEO, David Lockwood, is to step down.

The current CEO of Babcock’s nuclear sector, Harry Holt, will replace Lockwood who will retire before the end of the calendar year.

Babcock made the announcement alongside a trading update for the Q3 period, as the FTSE 100 company said its performance through Q3 had seen a continuation of the strong performance reported at the halfway mark.

The group revealed that most of its forecast revenue for the year is now contracted and that it was confident of meeting a margin target of 8% for the full year. Babcock is forecast to deliver a revenue of £5.08bn in FY26, with an estimated underlying profit of £409m.

A statement from the company said: “Babcock’s business momentum and operational performance have continued through the period with consistent delivery of our unique and critical capabilities for our customers around the world.

“The strategic progress we have made and our expectation of significant opportunities across all of our business into the medium term support our future growth ambitions.”

A separate announcement confirmed Lockwood’s departure from Babcock after five years in the CEO role, in which time the defence contractor said he had “led the business through a highly successful strategic and financial transformation”.

Commenting on his exit, Lockwood said: “Babcock is a unique company, it has a team of great people, with a range of important skills, alongside some of the most critical specialist infrastructure needed today. I am proud to leave Babcock well-positioned to deliver on the opportunities ahead in this new era in international defence and security.”

As part of a CEO transition, Holt will assume a newly created role of deputy CEO and will join the board in June, before taking over as Babcock’s permanent CEO when Lockwood retires before the end of the year.

Holt added: “I am deeply honoured to have the opportunity to lead Babcock through its next chapter. I would like to pay tribute to David's inspirational leadership that has put Babcock on an excellent footing from which we can continue to grow and am looking forward to working with him through the transition period.

“With our great people and our financial strength, we have the means to confidently address the exciting opportunities before us and to continue to deliver for our customers, colleagues, and communities, while creating long-term value for our shareholders.”

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