Rolls-Royce Shares Skyrocket 20% On Long-Haul Travel Boom

Rolls-Royce shares skyrocketed more than 20 per cent this morning after it raised its full year profit guidance on the back of a boom in long-haul flying and increased defence spending.

The aerospace giant said that half year profits are expected to be “materially above” expectations, with the company looking to make £680m, double the previous forecasts £328m.

Full year underlying operating profits of between could reach as high as £1.2-1.4bn, Rolls said, up from a previous consensus of £934m.

The improvement was led by revenue growth across its Civil Aerospace and Defence segments, which it now expects to see operating profits of £400m and £200m respectively in its first half results next week.

CEO Tufan Erginbilgic, who was appointed in January said his “multi-year transformation programme has started well with progress already evident in our strong initial results and increased full year guidance for 2023.”

“There is much more to do to deliver better performance and to transform Rolls-Royce into a high performing, competitive, resilient, and growing business.”

Rolls-royce also said it expects full year 2023 free cash flow of £0.9bn-£1.0bn, up from previous forecasts of between £600-800m, reflecting the higher than expected underlying operating profits. 

It comes after a booming first half of the year for the London-listed aviation manufacturer, which has benefitted from recovering demand for international travel as well as increased defence spending after the war in Ukraine.

The firm appointed Tufan Erginbilgic as chief executive in January –  taking over from longtime chief Warren East – and the new boss has aimed to shake up the business following years of underperformance pre-2023 and a disastrous pandemic period.

Erginbilc said in May that some of the companies’ key divisions had been “grossly mismanaged,” and stated that it was a “burning platform” which needs to cut debt and improve profits.

Erginbigic said this morning: “Despite a challenging external environment, notably supply chain constraints, we are starting to see the early impact of our transformation in all our divisions. Better profit and cash generation reflects greater productivity, efficiency and improved commercial outcomes.”

By Guy Taylor via CityAM

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