Rolls-Royce powering ahead after posting stellar full-year results

Engineering giant Rolls-Royce has posted an impressive set of full-year results as the firm continues to move forward “with pace and intensity”.

The firm, which has its civil aerospace and defence divisions in Derby, saw underlying profit increase from £1.26 billion to £2.29 billion last year.

And it is forecasting that adjusted operating profit for this year to come in between £2.7 billion and £2.9 billion.

The firm has upgraded its mid-term operating profit targets to between £3.6 billion to £3.9 billion and has launched a £1 billion share buyback that will start immediately.

Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said: “Strong 2024 results build on our progress last year, as we transform Rolls-Royce into a high-performing, competitive, resilient, and growing business.

“All core divisions delivered significantly improved performance, despite a supply chain environment that remains challenging. We are moving with pace and intensity.”

There were a number of highlights for its Civil Aerospace business, which is headquartered at Sinfin, Derby.

Landmarks were achieved with its Trent 1000 TEN engine, which successfully completed flight testing of the new HPT blade and the firm completed the design phase of further improvements for the Trent 1000 and Trent 7000.

It made improvements to the Trent XWB-84 EP to further improve the fuel efficiency and durability of the engine.

Rolls-Royce, which last year invested to grow capacity at Derby, Dahlewitz and Singapore, also successfully tested its UltraFan demonstrator.

In Defence, the firm won an eight year submarines contract worth £9 billion with the UK Ministry of Defence.

The firm is now investing heavily in its submarines facilities at Raynesway, in Derby, where it is doubling the size of the site and creating more than 1,000 new jobs.

And finally, Rolls-Royce SMR was named the preferred supplier for the construction of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) by the Government of the Czech Republic and the Czech State utility, ČEZ Group in late 2024.

Mr Erginbilgic said: “Based on our 2025 guidance, we now expect to deliver underlying operating profit and free cash flow within the target ranges set at our Capital Markets Day, two years earlier than planned.

“Significantly improved performance and a stronger balance sheet gives us confidence to reinstate shareholder dividends and announce a £1 billion share buyback in 2025.”