Rolls-Royce, the British maker of aircraft engines, today reported record annual profits of £1.16 billion sterling for 2011, up 21% on last year. It said it is confident of further growth this year.
The company has been lifted by an order book that stood at £62.2 billion at the end of 2011 - up 5% - fuelled by demand in civil aerospace.
Unveiling revenues of £11.3 billion, chief executive John Rishton said the business performed well in 2011. "Our order book gives us good visibility of future revenues and demonstrates the confidence our customers have in us," he said.
A year ago, the company's results were hit by the £56m impact of the mid-air failure of one of its Trent 900 engines on a Qantas superjumbo. However, the civil aerospace division appears to have weathered the storm after its order book grew by 7% to £51.9 billion, a workload which includes more than 5,000 engines.
It said that profits in the division increased by 27% to £499m due to higher volumes and improved productivity.
Rolls said its expects the division to produce further strong profits growth this year, alongside more modest improvements in its defence, marine and energy arms.
The pressure on government budgets around the world meant the order book in defence fell by 7% to £6 billion but Rolls said the £1.8 billion of new business achieved in the year demonstrated there were still opportunities for growth.
Rolls completed one of the biggest deals in its history last year when it joined forces with Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler to acquire German engine maker Tognum for around £3 billion. It will combine Tognum with its own Bergen business, which makes engines used across the maritime and power generation sectors.
The company also said that shareholders will receive a full-year dividend of 17.5 pence a share, an increase of 9% on a year earlier.
