Meggitt sees FY profit of £180m - £200m despite weaker aero demand

Aerospace engineering company Meggitt said it expected to report underlying profit of £180m - £200m despite a weaker civil airline sector due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

The aerospace, defence and energy industry-parts maker said third quarter revenue fell 25% to £384m, while for the nine months to September 30 it was down 18% to of £1.3bn.

“While we remain alive to the challenges which COVID-19 continues to pose, we are encouraged by recent news on vaccine development and the positive implications for air travel. With diverse end market exposure, strong market positions, and having taken a range of decisive actions, we remain well placed for the recovery,” said chief executive Tony Wood.

Meggitt said with international flight activity remaining at very low levels, and a large proportion of regional jet flights in the US serving the major international hubs, regional jet activity levels remained subdued during the period, down 55% compared with 2019 levels at the end of September.

There was a slight recovery in business jets with global flight activity down 17% at the end of the third quarter, compared with a slump of 26% in June.

The company noted that deliveries of new commercial aircraft, which drives revenue in its civil aviation division, were 36% lower in the third quarter compared with 2019 levels and 51% down for the nine months to the end of September.