Rolls-Royce profits soar after major UK and US defence orders


Rolls-Royce has announced a significant surge in its annual profit, climbing by ยฃ1 billion, alongside an upgraded financial outlook for the coming years.

The engineering powerhouse attributed this robust performance to substantial military aircraft orders and burgeoning demand for powering data centres.

The company reported an underlying operating profit of ยฃ3.5 billion for 2025, marking a 40 per cent increase from the ยฃ2.5 billion achieved in the previous year.

Underlying revenues also surpassed ยฃ20 billion over the period, representing approximately a tenth’s rise compared to 2024.

This impressive growth was fuelled by strong profit and sales across its civil aerospace, defence, and power divisions.

Rolls-Royce highlighted particularly strong demand for its defence products, securing major orders throughout 2025. The firm stated its various business units are well-positioned to capitalise on “key global trends” in the years ahead.

Rolls-Royce has revealed its annual profit surged by ยฃ1 billion and upgraded its outlook for the years ahead

Rolls-Royce has revealed its annual profit surged by ยฃ1 billion and upgraded its outlook for the years ahead (Paul Ellis/PA)

This included contracts worth more than ยฃ1.5 billion with the UKโ€™s Ministry of Defence and the USโ€™s Department of War for EJ200 and AE 2100 engines to power military aircraft.

New orders for the Eurofighter aircraft engines from Italy, Germany and Spain, as well as export agreements from Turkey, will drive production into the 2030s, it said.

Furthermore, Rolls-Royce said it was benefiting from growing demand for power generation, driven by data centres with revenues up by more than a third.

Rolls-Royce said it was now expecting underlying operating profits to increase to between ยฃ4.9 billion and ยฃ5.2 billion by 2028 following the strengthened financial performance in 2025.

This is significantly higher than the ยฃ3.6 billion to ยฃ3.9 billion range that it had previously been targeting.

Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said growth would not have been possible โ€œbefore our transformationโ€, with the business making ยฃ600 million worth of cost savings since 2022.

Rolls-Royce said it was now expecting underlying operating profits to increase to between ยฃ4.9 billion and ยฃ5.2 billion by 2028 following the strengthened financial performance in 2025

Rolls-Royce said it was now expecting underlying operating profits to increase to between ยฃ4.9 billion and ยฃ5.2 billion by 2028 following the strengthened financial performance in 2025 (REUTERS)

โ€œWith our new capabilities and mindset, we have navigated challenges from supply chain to tariffs, and delivered a strong performance in 2025, all while we built the foundations for significant growth for years to come,โ€ he said.

โ€œBased on our 2026 guidance, we expect to deliver underlying operating profit within the prior mid-term guidance range two years earlier than planned.

โ€œBeyond the mid-term we continue to see significant growth from existing businesses as well as from new business opportunities.โ€

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