Rolls-Royce Sees Increase in Trent Engine Deliveries and Aftermarket Services in First Half of 2024

UK aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce reported a significant increase in the delivery of large engines and aftermarket services in the first half of 2024. This surge is primarily driven by the Trent XWB-84 and Trent 7000 models, along with a growing demand for long-term service agreement (LTSA) shop visits, which is expected to boost the company's operating profits.

Rolls-Royce delivered 120 large engines from January to June 2024, up from 115 during the same period last year. This included 44 Trent XWB-84s, 37 Trent 7000s, 24 Trent 1000s, and 15 Trent XWB-97s. The XWB-84 and XWB-97 power Airbus' A350, the 7000 powers the A330neo, and the 1000 is used in Boeing's 787. Additionally, deliveries of smaller civil engines for business and regional aviation increased to 116 units, up from 73 a year earlier.

LTSA shop visits rose to 624, with 413 for large engines and 211 for smaller engines. Of these, 394 were classified as major.

Rolls-Royce received 273 large engine orders in the first half of the year, with notable orders for the A350 from Delta and IndiGo, followed by 787/777 and A330neo bookings from Korean Air and VietJet at the Farnborough Airshow. The company's order book at the end of June stood at 1,773 engines, up from 1,405 a year earlier.

Flight testing for high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade improvements on the Trent 1000, which will double the time on wing, is about to begin. This part is already in service on about half of the Trent 7000 fleet.

Revenue from Rolls-Royce's civil aerospace division increased to £4.1 billion ($5.2 billion) in the first half of 2024, driven by a rise in shop visits and engine deliveries. Service revenue accounted for £2.8 billion, and original equipment (OE) revenue was £1.3 billion, both up by 27%.

Defence revenues reached £2.2 billion, up by 18%, while power systems revenue grew by 6%, totaling £1.8 billion.

Reflecting the strong performance in the first half of the year, Rolls-Royce has raised its full-year operating profit guidance to £2.1 billion-2.3 billion from the previous £1.7 billion-2 billion forecast in February. Other civil aerospace metrics remain unchanged, with large engine flying hour guidance set at 100-110% of 2019 levels, OE deliveries at 500-550, and shop visits at 1,300-1,400.