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07 May 2020
First Take: Rolls Royce - Up to £1bn of savings this year.

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First Take: Rolls Royce - Up to £1bn of savings this year.
Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (RR:LON) | 1,134 73.7 0.6% | Mkt Cap: 95,540m
- Published:
07 May 2020 -
Author:
Ben Bourne | Rory Smith -
Pages:
4 -
Market conditions and mitigating actions
COVID-19 is causing significant disruption to the global aerospace industry, with an unprecedented reduction in air traffic:
Widebody engine flying hours were 40% lower than Group expectations in the first four months. This reflected a fall of 90% in April. Current Board expectations are for c.250 widebody engine deliveries in 2020, vs last guidance of 450 (INVe: c.300).
Power Systems has also experienced weaker trading since Q1 due to extended shutdowns in local markets and ongoing travel bans; performance in 2020 is likely to show a material deterioration compared to the prior year.
A number of immediate actions to adapt to current conditions: direct procurement has been reduced, and over 4,000 UK employees are on furlough.
The cash flow benefit of the Group’s actions is now expected to be up to £1bn this year, from £750m at 6 April.
The cancellation of the final 2019 shareholder payment has also conserved an incremental £137 million of cash flow.
An additional revolving credit facility of £1.5 billion was secured to bolster the Group's liquidity position and a successful syndication process with a larger group of banks has increased this to £1.9 billion.
Looking ahead, Rolls are pursuing changes to align the business – particularly Civil Aerospace – to expected demand.
FY guidance remains withdrawn.
Our view
Factors outside management control are clearly causing significant disruption,n but we see it as positive that further cash savings have been found, and that the Group’s banks continue to be supportive.
We place forecasts, target price and recommendation Under Review.