The company adds that this is a precautionary and reversible technical action that it does not anticipate will lead to the transfer of any jobs.
The statement continues: “We have begun to build inventory as a [Brexit-related] contingency measure, in line with the timetable that we gave in the summer. We have been liaising with all our suppliers and have reviewed our logistics options and have the required capacity available. At this point, we have contingency plans in place and will update the market when we have clearer visibility.”
Other parts of the statement say that the company has delivered fewer engines this year than anticipated. “As indicated in our statement on 26 October 2018, we expect to deliver around 500 large engines to our customers in 2018, lower than our March 2018 engine projection of around 550 large engines. This reflects supply chain challenges that are affecting the whole civil aero engine sector and also early stage production ramp-up challenges on our new Trent 7000 engine. As we move into 2019, we are confident that Trent 7000 production and delivery volumes will increase significantly to meet our customer commitments.”
As regards the issues with some Trent 1000 engines, it says: “Work continues to progress well with the regulatory authorities on the certification of the newly-designed intermediate pressure compressor blades for the Trent 1000 Package C engines. Once certified, this new design of blade can then be fitted to Package C engines as they come in for overhaul, helping to reduce the current customer disruption on this engine variant.
“Despite significantly increasing our Trent 1000 related maintenance, repair and overhaul capacity over the last 12 months, the number of aircraft on ground remains at a high level. We sincerely regret the disruption that this has caused our customers. We are determined and confident that as we execute our plans we will see a significant improvement in aircraft on ground as we progress through the first half of 2019.”
In an earlier announcement, the company said that there were 380 Package C engines currently in-service with airlines.
More generally the company says: “The restructuring we announced on 14 June 2018 remains on track. The focus in 2018 has been on establishing our new operating model and on delivering the targets previously communicated; specifically, a 4,600 headcount reduction over the next two years, with around a third of these taking place before the end of this year. We are confident that the end result will be a simpler, leaner and more agile organisation that drives culture change through pace, simplicity, efficiency and empowerment.”
Annual underlying revenue was £15 billion in 2017, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services. The firm and announced gross order book stood at £78.5 billion at the end of December 2017. The company employs 55,000 people in 50 countries.
