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After fixing its engine problems, Rolls-Royce is turning to its next big challenge
Rolls-Royce has resolved the durability problems that plagued its Trent aircraft engines and is now pursuing government backing to re-enter the huge narrowbody jet engine market. Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgiç, who called the company a "burning platform" on arriving in 2023, invested £1bn in improving Trent reliability and expanding maintenance capacity after cracking turbine blades caused disputes with airline customers and hit the share price.
The turnaround has been striking: underlying profits for 2025 rose 40% to £3.5bn, and the share price has climbed above £13, ten times its level three years ago. The Trent engines, used on widebody aircraft such as the Airbus A330, A350 and A380 and Boeing's 787 and 777, operate under extreme conditions, with blades enduring temperatures near 1,700C. Rolls-Royce has also benefited from rising demand for power generators for AI data centres and increased defence spending following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and is due to feature prominently at this week's Farnborough airshow.
In short
- Rolls-Royce has fixed durability issues with its Trent aircraft engines
- 2025 underlying profits jumped 40% to £3.5bn, shares up tenfold
- Company now eyes UK support to re-enter the narrowbody jet market
Explained simply
Rolls-Royce is a British company that manufactures jet engines for commercial aircraft. Its Trent engines have powered many of the world's largest passenger jets, but the company faced serious problems when turbine blades cracked under extreme heat during flight. These failures damaged relationships with airlines and significantly impacted the company's financial performance and share price.
New leadership appointed in 2023 invested substantially in fixing the reliability problems and expanding maintenance services. The results have been striking: profits have grown significantly and the share price has recovered to many times its previous low. This recovery has restored Rolls-Royce's reputation as a reliable supplier in the large aircraft engine market.
Rolls-Royce now wants to enter the narrow-body engine market, which powers the smaller aircraft used for most short to medium-haul flights worldwide. This market is far larger in volume than the wide-body aircraft engines that currently form the bulk of Rolls-Royce's business. Successfully breaking into this sector would represent a major new growth opportunity for the company.
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