UK's Babcock annual profit falls after frigate charge

June 22 (Reuters) - British defence and engineering group Babcock International reported a 19% drop in annual underlying operating profit on Monday after a £140 million ($184.90 million) charge on its Type 31 frigate programme for the Royal Navy.

The company reported underlying operating profit of £293.3 million for the year ended March 31, down from £362.9 million a year earlier.

($1 = 0.7572 pounds)

(Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)