MOTORING NEWS - British engine maker Rolls-Royce slumped into a record £4 billion annual net loss in 2016, ravaged by the Brexit-fuelled collapse in the pound and a corruption fine.
The loss after taxation, equivalent to US$5 billion or 4.8 billion euros, contrasted with a slender net profit of £84 million in the previous financial year, the company said in a results statement - but stressed it made an underlying profit.
Rolls took a vast £4.4 billion hit from the drop in the value of the pound in the wake of Britain's shock EU exit referendum, alongside a £671 million penalty to settle bribery allegations.
The London-listed company, whose engines are used in Airbus and Boeing aeroplanes, added that underlying pre-tax profits almost halved to £813 million.
On track with efforts to slash costs
Rolls-Royce, which also makes power systems for use on land and at sea, stated it was on track with efforts to slash costs and expected a "modest" performance improvement in 2017.
"2016 has been an important year as we accelerated the transformation of Rolls-Royce," said chief executive Warren East, who has overseen a radical restructuring.
"We have made operational progress and performed ahead of our expectations for the year as a whole. At the same time, we have delivered major changes to our management and processes and, while we have made good progress in our cost-cutting and efficiency programmes, more needs to be done to ensure we drive sustainable margin improvements within the business."
Rolls took a vast £4.4 billion hit from the drop in the value of the pound in the wake of Britain's shock EU exit referendum, alongside a £671 million penalty to settle bribery allegations.
The London-listed company, whose engines are used in Airbus and Boeing aeroplanes, added that underlying pre-tax profits almost halved to £813 million.
On track with efforts to slash costs
Rolls-Royce, which also makes power systems for use on land and at sea, stated it was on track with efforts to slash costs and expected a "modest" performance improvement in 2017.
"2016 has been an important year as we accelerated the transformation of Rolls-Royce," said chief executive Warren East, who has overseen a radical restructuring.
"We have made operational progress and performed ahead of our expectations for the year as a whole. At the same time, we have delivered major changes to our management and processes and, while we have made good progress in our cost-cutting and efficiency programmes, more needs to be done to ensure we drive sustainable margin improvements within the business."
