AIRCRAFT engine maker Rolls-Royce has seen business soar as travellers return to the skies and the global industry recovers from its pandemic woes.
Pre-tax profits for six months were £1.4billion — compared to a drastic £125million loss a year ago. underlying profit was £673million.
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The biggest boost to business came from the company’s civil aerospace division, which maintains and services engines for the world’s large airliners, such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787.
Large engine flying hours are up by more than a third compared to a year ago and are now back to 83 per cent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
That helped Rolls receive 240 large engine orders in the half-year, up from just 96 the previous year.
Civil aerospace operating profits were £405million for the period, compared with a loss of £79million a year ago.
Meanwhile, bosses have been busy overhauling the business to cut costs, with around 100 workers made redundant.
The job losses were among managers and support staff rather than workers in factories.
Boss Tufan Erginbilgic launched the turnaround programme when he took over as chief executive at the start of the year.
He said the plan “started well with progress already evident in our strong initial results and increased full year guidance for 2023”.
But he added: “There is more to do to deliver better performance and to transform Rolls-Royce into a high performing, competitive, resilient, and growing business.”
Rolls-Royce’s defence business has seen increased demand as a result of the war in Ukraine. Its operating profits grew £261million.
SERVICE SECTOR GROWTH STALLS
BRITAIN’S services sector grew at its slowest rate for six months, a respected survey shows.
It slumped to a reading of 51.5 last month, down from 53.7 in June, in the respected PMI index from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Although any reading above 50 indicates growth, the sector was being hit by subdued consumer demand.
It also saw a slip in job creation amid the weakest rise in new work for six months.
S&P’s Tim Moore said: “Higher borrowing costs take a bigger toll on consumer spending and business confidence.”
NEXT IN BLOOM
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NEXT said full-price sales climbed by 6.9 per cent in the last three months, as shoppers splashed out on warm weather outfits.
The fashion chain also enjoyed a bump for online sales, which jumped ten per cent.
The company expects profits this year to top £845million — with analyst Laith Khalaf of AJ Bell saying: “Consumers are happy to pay for goods if it offers good value for money.”
TESCO FLEXI-JOB
TESCO will offer staff flexible working from day one rather than making them wait the current six-month legal limit.
The supermarket chain has acted ahead of an expected change in the law next year.
The move will give its more than 300,000 workers the right to ask for part-time or flexible working hours from their very first day.
More than half of its staff already work part-time, but Tesco will now allow all full-time positions to be available as flexible or full-time.
James Goodman, of Tesco, said: “We think it is the right thing to do.”
TRANS BEER HIT
BREWING giant INBEV’s sales have fallen by 10.5 per cent in the US because of a boycott of Bud Light after it partnered with a trans influencer.
Sales to wholesalers fell 15 per cent while sales to retailers slipped 14 per cent.
Its adverts featuring Dylan Mulvaney sparked a social media backlash and Bud Light was overtaken as the top-selling US beer by Constellation Brands’ Mexican lager Modelo Especial.
InBev said: “Most consumers surveyed are favourable towards the Bud Light brand.”
Profits rose 3.5 per cent to £3billion in the past six months.
ALMOST a third of people in England and Wales said their mental health has been hit by soaring mortgage costs in the past year.
Mental health charity Mind has seen a 55 per cent rise in the number of people contacting its Infoline.
WIZZ AIR’S PROFITS SOARING
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BUDGET airline Wizz Air has turned last year’s £247million operating loss for the first quarter into a profit of £69million as tourists flock on holiday.
Wizz reported a 52.9 per cent jump in revenue from a record 15.3million passengers in the three months to the end of June.
Boss József Váradi said: “Summer is going well.”
Wizz has also confirmed an order for 75 additional A321neo aircraft from European planemaker Airbus.
The positive results echoed those of rivals EasyJet, which reported a record quarterly profit last month, and Ryanair which saw earnings nearly quadruple.
Victoria Scholar, of Interactive Investor , said: “The budget airline industry is benefitting from a strong rebound in demand for summer holidays post-covid.”
INCOME’S UP AT LSE
THE London Stock Exchange said income climbed 11.9 per cent in the six months to the end of June on the back of growth in its data operations.
It splashed out £21billion on data firm Refinitiv in 2021.
LSE boss David Schwimmer said: “Data and analytics is growing faster than it has for many years.”
Last year, it agreed a deal for Microsoft to buy a £1.6billion stake in the business.
