Rolls Royce engine of the first Fiji Airways A350 XWB airliner is seen at the aircraft builder’s headquarters of Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, November 15, 2019. — Reuters file pic
Investors are expected to back the rights issue, supporting CEO Warren East’s plan to cut 9,000 jobs and close factories to adjust to a lower level of demand from airline customers that fly with Rolls engines on Boeing 787s and Airbus 350s. Investors can buy 10 new shares for every three they own at 32 pence each, a 41 per cent discount to the theoretical ex-rights price.
Rolls accounts for 2 per cent of all UK goods exported and is one of the country’s biggest spenders on research and development. It also buys from 2,300 smaller UK suppliers, and before the pandemic supported as many as 135,000 UK jobs. Analysts are positive on Rolls’s future if it secures the 50 per cent plus one of votes cast at tomorrow’s virtual meeting.