Rolls-Royce swings to £2.9b loss

Engineering giant Rolls-Royce swung into loss last year, as it increased the charge for fixing problems with its Trent 1000 engines.

The company also took a charge of £186 million after Airbus said it was stopping production of its A380 superjumbo aircraft.

Rolls-Royce reported a pre-tax loss of £2.9 billion for 2018, down from a profit of £3.89bn the previous year.

The company's shares were the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 - down 4.0 per cent.

Underlying operating profit, which strips out the exceptional items, jumped 71 per cent to £633m, up from £317m in 2017.

"Underlying financial results are ahead of expectations, with good growth in profit and cash flow. Following the restructuring we announced in June last year we are starting to see the crucial behavioural changes needed to sustain our momentum," chief executive Warren East said.

Last year, a fault with Rolls-Royce's Trent 1000 engines grounded planes at British Airways and other airlines. The engine powers Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. 

At the time, the company said the issues would take "some years" to fix. It said parts in its Trent 1000 engines were wearing out faster than expected but that it "had a solution" to the problem, reports BBC.