Thursday 25 April 2019 4:01 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 12:31 am

Meggitt enjoys strong first quarter but warns of cooling revenue growth over rest of 2019

Meggitt shares rose today as the engineering company reported nine per cent revenue growth in the first quarter, but warned this was likely to slow down in the coming year. The warning comes after important client Boeing cut production of its 737 Max jet.

The British listed aerospace firm is a key supplier to Airbus and Boeing, and could be hit by the latter’s grounding of the 737 model worldwide after its second deadly crash in six months in March.

In a trading update, Meggitt did not namecheck Boeing specifically, but said air traffic growth could moderate over the rest of the year, which could affect revenue growth.

The FTSE 250 engineer said civil aerospace revenue grew 7 per cent year-on-year in the first three months of 2019, while defence revenue rose 18 per cent, boosted by demand for engine composites, brakes and training systems.

Shares were up 2.3 per cent this afternoon.

Lower demand in the nuclear sector hit revenue at Meggitt’s energy unit, however, which the firm said it was mindful about unsteady demand for defence products.

Meggitt maintained its forecast of underlying operating margin growth of between zero and 50 basis points in 2019.

Earlier this year Meggitt revealed it had spent as much as £5m stockpiling parts and hiring extra customs officials as part of its plans to mitigate a potential no-deal Brexit.

The firm announced in its full-year results it would take around two years before its operating margins significantly improve after being dragged down by its composite materials business in 2018.