Rolls-Royce is expected to confirm the size of its first dividend in five years on Thursday, in a boost for boss Tufan Erginbilgic. After being appointed in January 2023, the turnaround specialist told the engineering firm's 42,000 staff they were standing atop 'a burning platform' after Covid brought it to its knees.
It has since been buoyed by a recovery in aviation with China's reopening in late 2022. Rolls-Royce makes money from the 'flying hours' its passenger jet engines notch up. As a result its stock was the best performer in the FTSE 100 in both 2023 and 2024 surging 207 per cent and 96 per cent respectively.
Moving in the right direction: Tufan Erginbilgic was appointed Rolls-Royce in January 2023. Results this week will reveal £2.3 billion profit and free cashflow at £2.6 billion, giving Rolls-Royce headroom to reinstate the dividend. But Erginbilgic will stress there is still much to do. Though given he worked at troubled BP from 1997 to 2020, could 'Turbo Tufan' be tempted to take on one last turnaround job?.
