Rolls Royce to raise dividend after profit rise
ENGINE and turbine maker Rolls-Royce reported a stronger than expected 4.5 per cent rise in first half profit yesterday, and said a tight lid on costs had allowed it to raise full-year forecasts and dividend payments.
The British behemoth posted an underlying first-half pre-tax profit of £465m, up from £445m a year ago.
Revenues climbed 14.7 per cent to £10.4bn and its order book hit a record £58.3bn.
The world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines increased the final dividend payment by five per cent to 9p a share but said it expected the short-term trading environment to remain difficult in civil aerospace.
Chief executive Sir John Rose said: “Rolls-Royce has delivered a solid set of results despite difficult trading conditions. This demonstrates the resilience of our business.”
He added: “Our record order book, the breadth of the portfolio across all four sectors, our strong balance sheet and the early action we have taken to reduce costs will enable us to manage short-term difficulties and deliver long-term growth.” Rolls-Royce said it expected to double its sales over the next decade, driven by new projects such as Boeing’s Dreamliner.