London: British aerospace group BAE Systems said Thursday that 2014 net profits more than quadrupled on lower impairments, but underlying earnings fell on weak Western defence spending. Earnings after taxation, or net profit, surged to £740 million (Dh4.2 billion, $1.14 billion, €1.0 billion) last year, BAE Systems said in a results statement. That compared with £168 million in 2013, when the group’s performance was rocked by a vast £887-million impairment charge on its US business. Sales meanwhile sank 8.5 per cent to £16.64 billion.