LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Shares in Rolls-Royce surged by a fifth on Thursday after the aerospace and defence company lifted mid-term guidance, reinstated a dividend and unveiled a £1bn share buyback as annual profits jumped, driven by its civil engines unit.
The company said it expects to deliver 2025 underlying operating profit of £2.7bn-£2.9bn and free cash flow £2.7bn-£2.9bn, two years earlier than planned. Annual operating profit last year surged to £2.9bn from £1.94bn.

Upgraded mid-term targets include underlying operating profit of £3.6bn-£3.9bn and free cash flow of £4.2bn-£4.5bn. Free cash flow came in at £2.42bn leaving Rolls with a cash balance of £475m compared with debts of almost £2bn a year ago.

Shares in the company were up 20% in London trade. Rolls-Royce, which makes engines for civilian and commercial jets and nuclear reactors for submarines, has rallied from the Covid pandemic which saw long-haul air travel grounded.

Investors will receive dividend of 6p a share, or about £500m, to be paid in June 2025.

"These mid-term targets are a milestone, not a destination, and we see strong growth prospects beyond the mid-term," said chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic, who took over in 2023.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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