The increase in intercontinental passenger flights following the end of Covid-19 travel restrictions has hauled Rolls-Royce out of the red.
The Derby-based engineer, whose jet engines power the Airbus A350 and Airbus A380 aircraft and the rival long-haul Boeing 787 aircraft, reported a pre-tax profit of £511 million for the first half of the year.
In the same period last year when travel restrictions were still partly in place, the FTSE 100 group recorded a £111 million loss.
Net cash inflows of £356 million helped reduce net borrowings to £2.8 billion from £3.2 billion, a debt mountain accumulated after a £7 billion rescue refinancing during the pandemic.
Powering that was the group’s civil aerospace business, which has historically accounted for more than half the group. The division makes its money from the long-term service agreements it has with airlines that use its engines and income is bound to the flying hours those engines rack up.