Rolls-Royce posts soaring 2011 profits

[1]

British aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce on Thursday posted soaring 2011 profits and raised its dividend as the group was boosted by strong demand for civilian and military jet engines.

Net profit jumped 57 per cent to £850 million ($1.35 billion, 1.01 billion euros) last year, compared with profit after tax of £539 million in 2010, the London-listed company said in a results statement.

Pre-tax profit meanwhile grew 21 per cent to a record £1.16 billion from $955 million last time around. That was in line with analysts' estimates of £1.15 billion, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The group's order book increased to a record £62.2 billion at the end of December, up five percent from the level a year earlier, boosted by Airbus engine orders from Air France-KLM, Asiana, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines.

"Rolls-Royce performed well in 2011," said chief executive John Rishton in comments accompanying the earnings release.

"We continue to benefit from a broad portfolio, a large and growing customer base and access to markets where demand remains strong for our products and services.

The group added that revenues increased to £11.2 billion, compared with £11.09 billion the previous year. It also increased the shareholder dividend to 17.5 pence, up from 16 pence a share in 2010.

Looking ahead, Rolls-Royce said it expected to achieve continued growth this year. "Our order book gives us good visibility of future revenues and demonstrates the confidence our customers have in us," added Rishton.

"For 2012, we expect good growth both in underlying revenue and underlying profit with cash flow around breakeven as we continue to invest in future growth."

Last year, meanwhile, Rolls-Royce and German automaker Daimler clinched a joint takeover of Germany's industrial engines group Tognum.

Rishton added: "We see opportunities for profitable growth across our portfolio.

"In particular, the acquisition of Tognum, that we have made in partnership with Daimler, adds significantly to the breadth of our portfolio and will accelerate growth."

In 2010, Rolls-Royce had taken a hit of £56 million due to safety issues with the Trent 900 engine used to power the Airbus A380 superjumbo.