Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.) management cited strong operational performance and ongoing transformation actions as the reason for its confidence, as it repeated guidance for investors..
The company said it was proactively mitigating the financial impact of the conflict in the Middle East and "expect[s] to fully mitigate the current financial impact of the disruption to our business," Tufan Erginbilgic, Chief Executive, said in his AGM address.
Civil Aerospace delivered growth in engine flying hours (EFH), with large EFH up 5% to 115% of 2019 levels in the three months to 31 March and the group reiterating a full-year expectation of 115%-120% of 2019 levels.
Rolls-Royce reported large engine OE deliveries up 18% in Q1, large engine shop visits up 12%, AOG falling to single-digit levels at the end of April and continued order wins, including 40 Trent XWB-97 engines for Atlas Worldwide and multiple orders for Delta and Boeing 787s.
Defence saw more than 20% year-on-year OE delivery growth, highlighted first flight of the MQ-25 powered by an AE 3007 and new orders for EJ200 and MT30 engines, while work on future programmes, including MV-75 and F-130 testing, remains on track.
Power Systems said Q1 order intake for power generation was around 50% higher year-on-year, revenue growth was strong, March was a record month for orders and backlog stood at £7.3bn at 31 March.
The group said its balance sheet remains strong, noting Moody's and Fitch upgrades to A3 and A- respectively, repayment of a €750m bond from free cash flow in February and progress on a £2.5bn 2026 buyback tranche with more than £750m completed to date.
Rolls-Royce will report its 2026 half-year results on 30 July.
