Rolls-Royce wins £105m Cathay deal
AERO-ENGINE group Rolls-Royce has won a bumper $150m (£105m) deal from Cathay Pacific. In another sign the civil aerospace market could be picking up, Cathay has ordered 12 Trent engines for its regional fleet in the Asia-Pacific.
The deal is a major boost for Rolls' workforce in Derby, who will make the engines for delivery early next year.
Rolls-Royce is cutting 1,900 jobs at Derby as part of a cost-cutting exercise designed to absorb the impact of the 11 September attacks. More than 80% of the cuts have already taken place, mainly through voluntary redundancy or outplacement, as the workforce is trimmed to 12,000.
Cathay has ordered six Trent 700s for three Airbus A330s and six of Rolls' larger Trent 800s for three Boeing 777s.
Mike Terrett, president of Rolls-Royce's civil aerospace business, said he was delighted the group's long-standing relationship with Cathay had continued. The airline was the first customer to use Trent 700 seven years ago and also uses Rolls' RB211-524G/H-T engines on a fleet of 24 Boeing 747-400s.
'Cathay Pacific's commitment to the Trent engine family is underlined through this order,' Terrett said.
Rolls-Royce' shares were up 1 1/4 p to 186p by midday in the City.
