Rolls-Royce shares power to record high

LONDON, Aug 1 (AFP): Shares in Rolls-Royce hit a record high Thursday after the British maker of aircraft engines and other power systems said it planned to reinstate dividend payments following a strong turnaround.
The group was the biggest gainer in early trading on London's top-tier FTSE 100 index after also upgrading its full-year outlook.
Shares in Rolls reached a record high above 502 pence. They later cooled slightly to 490 pence, still a gain of nine percent compared with Wednesday's close.
"Roll-Royce investors would be forgiven for having their heads in the clouds... after another set of turbo-charged results," noted Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
In an earnings statement, the company said first-half revenue increased 18 percent to £8.9 billion ($11 billion).
Operating profit almost doubled to more than £1.6 billion, which offset a fall in net earnings.
"These results and our increased financial resilience give us the confidence to raise our 2024 guidance and reinstate shareholder distributions," Rolls-Royce chief excecutive Tufan Erginbilgic said in the release.
Erginbilgic, who began restructuring the group on taking the helm at the start of last year, said dividends would resume following its full-year earnings.
Following his appointment, the CEO decided to axe up to 2,500 jobs worldwide, or about six percent of group staff, after tough times for Rolls that has caused its suspension of dividends since the Covid pandemic.
That period saw the aviation sector suffer huge losses as commercial flights were grounded worldwide.