Turnaround gains altitude as Rolls-Royce shares take off

Rolls-Royce chief Warren East on Tuesday said there was “no time for complacency” as the recovering aerospace giant nearly trebled profits.

A cost-cutting plan and move to streamline Rolls’ bloated manufacturing lines has started to pay off after swingeing cuts to management last November.

“It’s encouraging to see the effects of the transformation actually making a difference to the numbers and undoubtedly we are accelerating that transformation programme,” East said.

“Although we started it in 2016, the full effect is felt much more strongly now in 2017 as people started to operate with fewer individuals in certain job areas.”

Revenue rose 6% to £6.9 billion for the half year ending June and profits jumped to £287 million from £104 million last time.

First-half commercial and administration costs plummeted by £38 million in the first half, a 7% drop.

Civil aerospace, which accounts for most revenue, benefited from a rise in Trent engine deliveries and strong growth in its vitally important after-market servicing.

Rolls’ often-troubled Trent XWB engines programme, which powers the Airbus A350, saw “further progress” in improving the economics of making the engines.

The shares rose 7.9% to 959p.