Melrose Industries makes 'good start to the year' in Q1

(Sharecast News) - Aerospace manufacturer Melrose Industries said on Wednesday that it had made "a good start to the year", with Q1 revenue, profits and cash all in line with internal expectations. Melrose said group revenues were up 6% year-on-year, with strong progress in its engines division, up 9%, as well as in its structures division, up 4%.

As a result of its restructuring and business improvement actions, Melrose stated adjusted operating profits were "well ahead" of the same period last year, while net debt and free cash flow at the end of the quarter were in line with internal expectations.

The FTSE 100-listed firm added that it has a "path to successfully mitigate" its identified direct exposure to Donald Trump's recent "Liberation Day" tariffs, specifically the movement of products to customers in the US and the supply of products into its manufacturing sites.

Looking ahead, Melrose expects FY revenues to be between £3.55bn and £3.70bn, while adjusted operating profits were pegged to be roughly £700.0m. In line with historical and industry seasonality, profit and cash were expected to be second-half weighted, with negative free cash flow in the first half.

Chief executive Peter Dilnot said: "The recent introduction of tariffs has created additional complexity across the aerospace industry. We have acted swiftly to evaluate potential effects on the group and have a path to successfully mitigate our identified direct exposure at current tariff levels. The situation remains fluid, and we will continue to work closely with our customers and suppliers to respond as needed.

"Melrose has established positions on all the world's leading aircraft and underlying demand remains very strong in both our civil and defence markets. Our business improvements are reading through with more benefits to come going forwards. We are therefore confident about delivering profitable growth and significantly increasing free cash flow in 2025 and in the years ahead."

As of 0930 BST, Melrose shares were down 0.60% at 429.40p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com