(News Bulletin 247) – Rolls-Royce shines on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday as its new CEO expressed his optimism on the occasion of his very first publication of results at the helm of the British engine manufacturer.

The title, which had already jumped 38% since last October at last night’s closing price, still takes 23.6% today, signing by far the largest increase in the FTSE 100 index.

Over the past financial year, the aeronautical equipment manufacturer generated current operating income of 652 million pounds sterling, compared to 414 million in 2021.

Its turnover increased to some 12.7 billion pounds, against 10.9 billion a year earlier.

Quoted in a press release, Tufan Erginbilgic, the new general manager of the group, welcomes the improvement in the company’s performance, while believing that it could have done even better.

“Our transformation plan will allow us to increase our efficiencies and our commercial results, while leading to a reduction in our working capital,” he explained.

For 2023, Rolls says it expects net current income between 800 million and a billion pounds, for a free cash flow of 600 to 800 million.

For comparison, analysts were targeting an average of 750 and 520 million pounds.

Tufan Erginbilgic – who ensures that the transformation project will be deployed quickly – has also promised to launch a strategic review process aimed at defining the priority areas for investment, the results of which will be known in the second half of the year.

In a reaction note, UBS analysts believe that ‘the new CEO’s strategy is in line with what investors were hoping for’.

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