Annual Report and Accounts
10 March 2009
Annual Report 2008
Publication of the Annual report
Rolls-Royce Group plc announces that its Annual report for the year ended 31
December 2008, the Annual review and summary financial statement and the Notice
of Annual General Meeting are now available on the Company's website:
www.rolls-royce.com
Printed copies of these documents will be posted to shareholders on or around
24 March 2009 and they will shortly be available for inspection at the UK
Listing Authority's document viewing facility at 25 The North Colonnade, Canary
Wharf, London E14 5HS.
In accordance with paragraph 6.3.5 of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules we
set out below a management report extracted from the Annual report in unedited
full text. Accordingly, page references in the text below refer to page numbers
in the Annual report. A condensed set of financial statements was included in
our final results announcement issued on February 12, 2009.
The Annual report contains a responsibility statement in compliance with DTR
4.1.12 signed on behalf of the Board by Tim Rayner, General Counsel and Company
Secretary. This states that on February 11, 2009, the date of approval of the
Annual report, each of the persons who was a director confirmed that to the
best of his or her knowledge:
i. each of the Group and parent company financial statements, prepared in
accordance with IFRS and UK Accounting Standards respectively, gave a true
and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or
loss of the issuer and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken
as a whole; and
ii. the Directors' report on pages 1 to 84 of the Annual report included a fair
review of the development and performance of the business and the position
of the Company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as
a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and
uncertainties that they faced.
The Annual General Meeting of the Company will take place at 11.00am on
Thursday April 30, 2009 at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad
Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not
relate only to historical or current facts. In particular, all statements that
express forecasts, expectations and projections with respect to future matters,
including trends in results of operations, margins, growth rates, overall
market trends, the impact of interest or exchange rates, the availability of
financing to the Company, anticipated cost savings or synergies and the
completion of the Company's strategic transactions, are forward-looking
statements. By their nature, these statements and forecasts involve risk and
uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may
or may not occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause
actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements and forecasts. The forward-looking
statements reflect the knowledge and information available at February 11,
2009, the date of signing of the Annual report, and will not be updated during
the year. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit
forecast.
Enquiries:
Investor relations:
Mark Alflatt
Director of Financial Communications
Rolls-Royce plc
Tel: +44 (0)20 7227 9246
mark.alflatt@rolls-royce.com
Business review
Introduction
Rolls-Royce is a global business providing and supporting integrated power
systems for use on land, at sea and in the air. The Group has a balanced
business portfolio with leading market positions.
2008 2007 Change 2006 2005 2004
______________________________________________ _____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____
Order book - firm and announced (£bn) 55.5 45.9 21 % 26.1 24.4 21.3
______________________________________________ _____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying revenue (£m)* 9,147 7,817 17 % 7,353 6,458 5,947
______________________________________________ _____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____
Profit before financing (£m) 862 512 68 % 693 877 417
______________________________________________ _____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying profit before tax (£m)** 880 800 10 % 705 593 364
______________________________________________ _____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying EBITDA (£m) 1,244 1,065 17 % 979 933 717
______________________________________________ _____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____
Earnings per ordinary share (p) (73.63 ) 33.67 (319 %) 57.32 20.11 15.56
______________________________________________ _____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying earnings per ordinary share (p)** 36.70 34.06 8 % 29.81 24.48 15.62
______________________________________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
*Underlying revenues reflect actual US$ exchange rates on settled derivative
contracts.
**Reconciliation of underlying results is provided in note 2 on page 99 and
note 5 on page 103 of the consolidated financial statements.
Civil aerospace
We are one of the world's largest civil aero-engine providers, with more than
12,000 Rolls-Royce jet engines in service. We power over 30 civil aircraft
types, from small executive jets through to large passenger aircraft.
Defence aerospace
Rolls-Royce is the world's second largest defence aero-engine manufacturer,
providing around 25 per cent of the world's military engines. Our portfolio
covers all major sectors, including transport, helicopters, combat, trainers
and tactical aircraft.
Marine
We are a global leader in marine propulsion for cruise, fast vessel, naval and
offshore markets and a world leader in ship design for the offshore sector. We
support 2,000 commercial marine customers and 70 navies use our propulsion
systems and marine equipment.
Energy
Rolls-Royce is a world leader in power for the oil and gas industry and our gas
turbines have a growing presence in the electrical power generation market. Our
skills and technology will also address the growing global market for nuclear
power.
Services
The Group seeks to be the customer's first choice for services by developing
long-term relationships. Our comprehensive support contracts enable us to add
value for our customers by using our technology, skills and data management
expertise.
Chairman's statement
Simon Robertson
I am very pleased to report that in difficult market conditions, Rolls-Royce
has again performed well in 2008. We delivered a strong underlying profit and
cash performance and our order book increased from £45.9 billion in 2007 to £
55.5 billion in 2008.
We are proposing a final payment to shareholders of 8.58p per share making
14.30p for the full year, an increase of ten per cent, reflecting the Board's
continuing confidence in the Group's business.
The adverse economic outlook inevitably creates huge challenges for all
businesses and it is clear that Rolls-Royce will also be impacted. It is
difficult to determine the precise scale of the impact on the Group until the
severity of the current downturn is clearer. However, Rolls-Royce does enter
this testing period with a number of significant advantages. We have pursued a
consistent strategy, which has created a business that is well diversified in
terms of its products, customers and geography. We also have a strong balance
sheet with no net debt. Early action was taken to reduce operating costs and to
put our pension schemes on a sustainable footing. We are therefore better
prepared to deal with the uncertainties which undoubtedly lie ahead.
The Board is committed to improving the environmental performance of our
products through continuous innovation and the development of new technologies.
For example, since the first commercial jet engines were produced our
engineering expertise has helped reduce aircraft fuel burn by 70 per cent and
noise by 75 per cent. We are also committed to reducing the carbon footprint of
our operations. We have invested in new facilities and implemented energy
efficiency measures that have delivered a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
of some 30 per cent over the last decade. We are actively developing
opportunities in civil nuclear power and other low carbon technologies.
The Board is determined to achieve and maintain best practice in all areas of
corporate responsibility, including all aspects of health and safety.
Unfortunately over the past two years we have had to announce some
redundancies. The Board does not make such decisions lightly, as we take our
responsibilities to our people very seriously. However, in order to reduce our
operating costs in response to the global economic upheavals, the Board felt
these were decisions it had to take.
We attach particular importance to our businesses being run in a way which
reflects the highest ethical standards. That is why we decided last year to
establish a new Board committee, the Ethics Committee, under the chairmanship
of Ian Strachan, to bring a better focus to this issue across the Group.
There have been a number of changes to the Board during the year. We have
welcomed John McAdam and John Neill as new non-executive directors, both of
whom will bring valuable experience to the Board. Helen Alexander has been
appointed as Chairman of the Remuneration Committee. Carl Symon has retired
from the Board during the year after nine years' service and I would like to
thank him for his valuable contribution to the Group. Sadly, Boris Federov, a
valued member of our International Advisory Board, died suddenly during the
year.
I would like to congratulate John Rose who was recently made a Commandeur de la
Légion d'honneur.
I would also like to thank the management and all our employees for their
dedication, hard work and commitment to the success of the Group over what has
been a very demanding year. I am also indebted to my fellow directors for the
support they have given to me personally and to the Group over this period.
2009 will clearly be a very difficult year for the world economy but I strongly
believe that our business is particularly well placed to respond to these
challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities that will undoubtedly
arise.
Simon Robertson
Chairman February 11, 2009
Chief Executive's review
Sir John Rose
Rolls-Royce performed strongly in 2008 in the face of increasingly challenging
conditions.
Our results demonstrate the value of our consistent strategy. The strength of
our technology, the breadth of our product and service portfolio, our knowledge
of the customer and the capabilities of our people continue to increase our
resilience and enable us to develop the business for the longer term.
Our financial results reflect the strength of our business model. In 2008,
Group sales increased to £9,082 million (2007 £7,435 million), with underlying
sales growth of 17 per cent. The published loss before tax was £1,892 million
(2007 profit £733 million). This loss was caused primarily by the effects of
the marking to market of various financial instruments, as is explained further
in the Finance Director's review on page 55, and the reported earnings do not
reflect the underlying trading performance of the Group in 2008. Underlying
profit before tax rose by ten per cent to £880 million (2007 £800 million). We
ended the year with a net cash balance of £1,458 million (2007 £888 million)
and a record order book of £55.5 billion (2007 £45.9 billion).
As I write, the global economic crisis continues to intensify and it is
impossible to be precise about its ultimate severity and duration. What is
certain is that all companies will be affected to varying degrees and it is
clear that Rolls-Royce, its customers and suppliers will not be immune from
this global crisis. However, as a strong power systems company, Rolls-Royce has
a number of characteristics which give me confidence that we will be able to
deal effectively with the very considerable challenges and uncertainties that
lie ahead.
A very different company
It is worth recalling at the outset that the current crisis is not the first to
which Rolls-Royce has had to respond.
In recent years our markets have been impacted by the events of September 11,
2001, the Gulf War in 2002 and the SARS epidemic in 2003.
As a business, we have also had to deal with a wide range of negative
developments such as a weakening US dollar, high oil and commodity prices and
delays in major new airframe programmes. All these challenges have been
effectively managed by the Group.
The drivers of the current global economic crisis clearly differ significantly
from previous downturns. However, Rolls-Royce itself is also a very different
company.
Our turnover in 2001 was around £6 billion, with only 38 per cent of our
revenues derived from services. We had a geared balanced sheet with average net
debt of around £1 billion and a large and volatile pensions deficit. Our order
book of £16.7 billion was concentrated on traditional Western markets such as
the UK and the US. As a result, in the downturn that started in 2000 but was
exacerbated by the tragedy of 9/11, the Group was less resilient than today.
Rolls-Royce is now well diversified by product, customer and geography. Our
revenues have increased to over £9 billion with over 50 per cent now derived
from services. Our order book has increased more than threefold to over £55
billion and is broadly spread across all the world's principal markets. Most
significantly of all, we have a strong balance sheet with no net debt. Our
long-term strategy of hedging currency risk has served us well, allowing a
manageable and predictable deterioration in the sterling/US dollar achieved
rate over the past five years.
Our large installed base of over 54,000 engines supports a growing services
business. The scale of this services activity, together with the size of the
order book and the longevity of our programmes, gives us much clearer
visibility of future revenues. All these characteristics increase the Group's
resilience and despite the uncertain outlook, give us confidence for the
future. In this more challenging environment, operational performance, cost
reduction and matching capacity to load will be particularly important.
In January 2008, we took early action to reduce costs by taking the difficult
decision to reduce staffing in support functions by 2,300 people. This
programme has been completed at no net cost to the Group and in 2009 will
reduce our costs by £100 million. A further proposed reduction of 1,500-2,000
jobs in 2009 is expected to be cost neutral in the year, while delivering
similar savings in 2010. These programmes demonstrate our commitment to
achieving and sustaining world-class levels of operational efficiency and
improving our competitiveness.
Developing the business
It is clearly impossible to provide a forecast of the precise impact that the
global crisis will have on Rolls-Royce. However, it is clear that the Group's
power systems portfolio - whether for use on land, at sea or in the air -
provides products and services for which there will be a strong, global demand
for the foreseeable future. Importantly, the sectors in which the Group
operates are characterised by high barriers to entry because of the advanced
technologies required and routes to market which have to be established and
maintained. Rolls-Royce will be able to exploit these advantages over many
years as the global economy recovers and resumes growth.
A long-term business
The longevity of our programmes, the scale of our order book and the increasing
importance of our services activity suggest that over the next ten years the
Group can double in size through organic growth alone. In civil aerospace, for
example, based on our understanding of the order book and the long-term
programmes in which we are involved, we see a market potential for around 8,000
wide-bodied aircraft over the next 20 years, a very significant opportunity for
our Trent engine family.
Investing for growth
Rolls-Royce has a strong track record of developing businesses by investing in
organic growth, partnerships and acquisitions. Our civil aerospace business is
a case in point. Our acquisition of the Allison Engine Company in 1995 helped
Rolls-Royce build up a strong position in the corporate and regional jet market
through the highly successful AE 3007 programme. Our joint venture with BMW in
1990 enabled us to establish a new centre of excellence in Germany for two
shaft engines, an important strategic development which culminated in the Group
buying out BMW's share of the joint venture in 1999. Collaboration also played
a key role in the development of the Trent programme, with Rolls-Royce agreeing
an important series of risk and revenue sharing partnerships with a wide range
of global companies.
A consistent approach
We are taking the same approach to develop our marine business which was
transformed by the acquisition of Vickers in 1999. We gained access to new
capabilities including design and integration systems, propulsion and control
equipment, a global sales and services network and routes to market for the
offshore and merchant sectors. This combination of a strong ship design
capability and the provision of high technology equipment and systems has
enabled marine to improve its market access and broaden its product offering.
Defence aerospace has similarly been transformed from a narrowly focused
business which was overly dependent on the UK to one which provides engines and
service support on a global basis and across a wide range of sectors including
fast jets, transport aircraft, unmanned vehicles, trainers and helicopters. We
have more than 160 customers in 103 countries, with the USA now accounting for
around 45 per cent of defence aerospace revenues.
Exploring new opportunities as a power systems company
Looking ahead, the Group can take full advantage of its strong systems
integration capability based on its knowledge of technology, its close
understanding of customers' needs and its ability as a power systems company to
apply these integration skills in support of the customer. This will enable the
Group to exploit its technological strengths in adjacent markets and to develop
its existing businesses through partnerships and acquisitions.
A good example of this is civil nuclear. In 2008, we established a new business
unit to address the rapidly expanding global market for nuclear power
generation which we estimate could be worth around £50 billion per year within
15 years. The civil nuclear opportunity plays to our strengths.
It requires technological expertise, systems integration capabilities and a
global supply chain, all of which we have developed during the 50 years we have
designed, manufactured and supported nuclear reactors for the Royal Navy's
submarine fleet.
We will also use this approach to take advantage of other opportunities to
address distributed power and alternative energy.
World-class people
In responding to the short-term challenges we are currently facing and in
developing the business for the longer term, our people are our strongest
asset. Rolls-Royce is a power systems company, powered by the knowledge,
experience and imagination of all our employees across the world.
Our advantages are dependent on the contributions they make and in this
increasingly challenging period I am particularly indebted to all of our people
for everything they do in support of the business.
Future prospects
The Group expects that in 2009 its global markets will be affected by reducing
demand and the impact of financing constraints. We will continue to manage the
consequences of airframe programme slippages.
Cash generation will be affected by the reduction in new orders and associated
deposit intake and the impact on inventory of any delays or cancellations.
There are also likely to be requests for customer and supplier financial
support which will be considered by the Group on a case by case basis. In the
current environment it is expected that in 2009 despite a cash outflow, the
average net cash balance of the Group will increase. The Group's current view
is that underlying revenues will continue to grow and underlying profits for
the year will be broadly similar to those achieved in 2008.
Sir John Rose
Chief Executive
February 11, 2009
Our strategy
As a power systems company, Rolls-Royce focuses on supplying its customers with
integrated systems to meet their power and propulsion needs. Our consistent
strategy has five elements:
Address four global markets
We are a leading integrated power systems company operating in the civil and
defence aerospace, marine and energy markets.
Invest in technology, infrastructure and capability
Over the past five years, we have invested £3.7 billion in research and
development. We invest approximately £30 million annually in training and over
£300 million a year on capital projects.
Develop a competitive portfolio of products and services
We have more than 50 current product programmes and we are involved in many of
the future projects in the markets we serve. These key projects will define the
power systems market for many years.
Grow market share and installed product base
Across the Group, the installed base of engines in service is expected to
generate attractive returns over many decades.
Add value for our customers through the provision of product-related services
We seek to add value for our customers with aftermarket services that will
enhance the performance and reliability of our products.
The core characteristics which define our business and underpin the delivery of
this strategy are:
Closeness to our customers
We develop close relationships with our customers over many years. This allows
us to offer solutions, often in partnership with our customers, to meet their
specific requirements.
Domain knowledge
Underpinning our sales of equipment and related services is a deep knowledge of
the overall environment in which our equipment is used. This allows us to
provide the optimum level of service and focus our activities to meet our
customers' needs and grow our business.
Integrated systems
We supply our customers with products, related services and whole systems. Our
ability to integrate and optimise systems enables us to create value for
customers in all our main markets.
Technological superiority
Our investments in technology and capability provide Rolls-Royce and our
customers with competitive advantage.
Operational excellence
We aim to operate at the highest standards, to ensure that we continue to meet
our customers' requirements in the quality, performance, durability and
delivery of our products, systems and services.
Organisational capability
Because we are a global company we have the ability to recruit and retain
capable people in many locations. Our investment in training and the varied
career opportunities are key to our success in retaining high-quality people.
Brand
We have an exceptionally strong brand which is recognised globally and embodies
qualities that create a common focus for all our people, wherever they are
located.
Our business
Market outlook
The Group operates in four long-term global markets - civil and defence
aerospace, marine and energy. These markets create a total opportunity worth
some two trillion US dollars over the next 20 years and:
- have very high barriers to entry;
- offer the opportunity for organic growth;
- feature extraordinarily long programme lives, usually measured in decades;
- can only be addressed through significant investments in technology,
infrastructure and capability; and
- create a significant opportunity for extended customer relationships, with
revenues from aftermarket services similar in size to original equipment
revenues.
The size of these markets is generally related to world Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) growth, or in the case of the defence markets, global security and the
scale of defence budgets.
Civil aerospace
The Group publishes a 20 year global market outlook, which covers passenger and
cargo jets, corporate and regional aircraft. We predict that over the next 20
years 131,000 engines, worth over US$700 billion, will be required for more
than 60,000 commercial aircraft and business jets. The forecast predicts faster
growth rates for long-haul markets and those markets to, from and within Asia.
These markets will continue to benefit from more liberal air service
agreements, which boost demand. Factors affecting demand include GDP growth,
aircraft productivity, operating costs, environmental issues and the number of
aircraft retirements. While the market can be temporarily disrupted by external
events, such as war, acts of terrorism, or economic downturns, it has, in the
past, always returned to its long-term growth trend. In addition to the demand
for engines, the Group forecasts a market opportunity worth US$550 billion for
the provision of product-related aftermarket services.
Defence aerospace
The Group forecasts that demand for new military engines and through-life
support will be worth US$450 billion over the next 20 years. The largest single
market is expected to be the US, followed by Europe and the Far East. Within
Asia, demand will be dominated by Japan, South Korea and India. Trends are
driven by the scale of defence budgets and geopolitical developments around the
world.
As in the Group's other business sectors, programme lives are long and there is
a significant opportunity to support equipment with aftermarket services.
Customers' budget constraints and their need to increase the value they derive
from their assets have accelerated the move in this direction.
Marine
The Group forecasts demand for marine power and propulsion systems of US$200
billion over the next 20 years. Demand will be greatest in the commercial
sector, where the merchant market represents 40 per cent of the total and the
offshore market, a further 40 per cent. Commercial shipping plays a crucial
role in the world economy. The need to transport raw materials, finished goods,
people, and oil and gas requires a large fleet which has to be renewed
progressively. The expansion of trade and technological advances means more
ship construction for growth and for replacement as older designs become
obsolete. Finding and extracting oil and gas offshore requires a large number
of floating drilling and production units which, in turn, are supported by a
variety of service craft.
Merchant and offshore markets are rarely at the same stage of the business
cycle, which helps to reduce overall volatility. In naval markets, the Group
expects surface vessels to represent 15 per cent of the total demand, and
submarines five per cent.
Naval markets are driven by different considerations, with customers looking to
get more for their budgets, leading to increasing demand for integrated systems
and through-life servicing arrangements. As in the Group's other markets,
marine aftermarket services are expected to generate significant demand,
forecast at US$120 billion over the next 20 years.
Energy
The International Energy Agency has forecast that over the next 20 years, the
worldwide demand for oil will grow by 40 per cent, for gas by more than 50 per
cent and for power generation by nearly 60 per cent. To satisfy this demand,
there will be a growing requirement for aero derivative gas turbines.
The Group's 20 year forecast values the total aero derivative gas turbine sales
in the oil and gas and power generation sectors at US$70 billion. Over this
period, demand for associated aftermarket services is expected to be around
US$50 billion.
While the oil and gas market is large and growing, demand for aero derivative
gas turbines in the power generation segment is four times that of oil and gas.
Note: A long-term conversion rate has been used where necessary in order to
present all figures in US$.
Group financial highlights
The Group delivered underlying organic sales growth across all businesses,
growth in underlying profits and a further year of positive cash flow.
Key performance indicators
The Board uses a range of financial and non-financial indicators to monitor
Group and segmental performance in line with the strategy described on page 12.
These indicators are chosen to monitor both current performance and the success
of investments that will sustain and enhance future performance. Key
performance indicators are included in the appropriate sections of the business
review and are as follows:
Underlying revenue
Monitoring of revenues provides a measure of business growth. Underlying
revenues are used in order to eliminate the effect of the decision not to adopt
hedge accounting and to provide a clearer year-on-year measure. The Group
measures foreign currency sales at the actual exchange rate achieved as a
result of settling foreign exchange contracts from forward cover.
Underlying profit before financing
Underlying profit before financing is presented on a basis that shows the
economic substance of the Group's hedging strategies in respect of the
transactional exchange rate and commodity price movements. In particular, (a)
revenues and costs denominated in US dollars and euros are presented on the
basis of the exchange rates achieved during the year, (b) similar adjustments
are made in respect of commodity derivatives, and (c) consequential adjustments
are made to reflect the impact of exchange rates on trading assets and
liabilities and long-term contracts on a consistent basis. The derivation of
underlying profit before financing is shown in note 2 on page 99 of the
consolidated financial statements.
Cash flow
In a business requiring significant investment, the Board monitors cash flow to
ensure that profitability is converted into cash generation, both for future
investment and as a reward for shareholders. The Group measures cash flow as
the movement in net funds/debt during the year, after taking into account the
value of derivatives held to hedge the value of balances denominated in foreign
currencies. The figure in 2007 is shown after reflecting a £500 million special
contribution to the Group's UK pensions schemes, as part of the restructuring
of its pensions schemes.
Return on capital employed
Return on capital employed is calculated as the after-tax underlying profit,
divided by the average net assets during the year, adjusted for net cash, the
net post-retirement deficit and goodwill previously written off. It represents
a measure of the return the Group is making on its investments.
Net research and development change
Investment in research and development underpins all the elements of the
Group's strategy. Programme expenditure is monitored in conjunction with a
gated review process on each programme and progress is reviewed at key
milestones.
Gross research and development expenditure
The Group's research and development activities comprise both self-funded and
customer-funded programmes. Gross expenditure measures the total research and
development activity and is an indicator of the effectiveness of the actions
taken to continuously improve the Group's intellectual property.
Net research and development expenditure as a proportion of underlying revenue
Research and development is measured as the self-funded expenditure before both
amounts capitalised in the year and amortisation of previously capitalised
balances. The Group expects to spend approximately five per cent of revenues on
research and development although this proportion will fluctuate annually
depending on the stage of development of current programmes. This measure
reflects the need to generate current returns as well as to invest for the
future.
Capital expenditure
To deliver on its commitments to customers, the Group invests significant
amounts in its infrastructure. All investments are subject to rigorous review
to ensure that they are consistent with forecast activity and will provide
value for money. Annual capital expenditure is measured as the cost of
property, plant and equipment acquired during the period.
Order book
The order book provides an indicator of future business. It is measured at
constant exchange rates and list prices and includes both firm and announced
orders. In civil aerospace, it is common for a customer to take options for
future orders in addition to firm orders placed. Such options are excluded from
the order book. In defence aerospace, long-term programmes are often ordered
for only one year at a time. In such circumstances, even though there may be no
alternative engine choice available to the customer, only the contracted
business is included in the order book. Only the first seven years' revenue of
long-term aftermarket contracts is included.
Training and development
Training is a core element of the Group's investment in its capability and is
measured as the expenditure on the training and development of employees,
customers and suppliers. Effectiveness is ensured by using a range of external
and internal sources, and by gathering user feedback.
Employee engagement
Regular surveys are undertaken to identify and address emerging issues. A full
employee engagement survey is run every two years with smaller pulse surveys in
between. Training and employee engagement surveys are discussed further in the
corporate responsibility section of this review.
Sales per employee
A measure of personnel productivity, this indicator measures published revenue
generated per employee.
Product cost index
Unit costs are a key determinant of the Group's ability to deliver its
commitments on a profitable basis. The Group monitors the year-on-year change
in the actual average unit product cost of its gas turbine operations and seeks
over time to improve productivity in all owned facilities and those of its
suppliers.
Engine deliveries
The Group's installed engine base represents an opportunity to generate future
aftermarket business. This is measured as the number of Group products
delivered during the year within each business except for marine, as its
products do not lend themselves to this measure due to their diversity.
Installed thrust - civil
Installed thrust is the indicator of the amount of product in use by our
customers and therefore the scale of opportunity this presents for our services
business.
Percentage of civil fleet under management
Long-term contracts are an important way of generating value for customers. The
percentage of fleet under management gives a measure of the proportion of the
installed base where the future aftermarket arrangements are agreed under
long-term contracts. This is measured as the percentage of gas turbines and
submarine propulsion units where the Group has contracted a long-term service
arrangement. In civil aerospace, marine and energy, the percentage is weighted
to reflect the value of the equipment under management. The figure shown for
civil aerospace for 2004 differs from that disclosed in the Annual report for
that year as a result of reflecting this weighting.
Underlying services revenue
Underlying services revenue shows the amount of business during the year that
has been generated from the installed engine base. This is measured as the
revenue derived from spare parts, overhaul services and long-term service
arrangements.
Emissions
Much of the research and development expenditure is focused on reducing
emissions of the Group's products. The Group measures both the emissions of its
products and the emissions of its manufacturing operations. These measures are
described in detail in the environment report, `Powering a better world', which
is available on the Group's website, www.rolls-royce.com.
Principal risks and uncertainties
The Group continues to be exposed to a number of risks and has an established,
structured approach to identifying, assessing and managing those risks. The
risk committee has accountability for the system of risk management and reports
regularly to the Board on the key risks facing the business and the mitigating
actions put in place to deal with them. The Group's consistent strategy and
long-term programmes require that key sources of risk are identified in advance
and are maintained under continuous review.
The risks described below are among those that the Group considers might have
an impact on the Group's performance. This is notwithstanding other risks and
uncertainties that are currently unknown to the Group or which the Group does
not presently consider to be material. The principal risks reflect the global
growth of the business, and the competitive and challenging business
environment in which it operates. Risks, including those to the Group's
reputation, are considered under four broad headings:
- Business environment risks
- Strategic risks
- Financial risks
- Operational risks
Business environment risks
Cyclical downturn - global recession
The current challenging economic environment is a source of some uncertainty
for the Group. The length and depth of the current recession and constraints
caused by reduced liquidity from global capital markets may hinder the ability
of customers and suppliers to make planned investments in all sectors. The
Group's largest market, civil aerospace, is cyclical by nature, although
services activity and revenues, now representing more than 60 per cent of the
civil aerospace business annual revenue, have historically been less volatile
in economic slowdowns and are considered more predictable and robust than the
sales of engines for new aircraft.
The contribution from the Group's global activity in other non-civil aerospace
markets is becoming more significant. It now represents around 50 per cent of
Group revenues, and these markets are also less cyclical in nature.
The Group's broadly balanced power systems activities, access to global markets
with greater diversification by sector, customer and geography and an improved
balance between original equipment and services revenues are expected to help
mitigate the effects of the slowing global economy.
The Group has a robust balance sheet with positive net cash. The changes made
to the UK defined benefit pension schemes should ensure a less volatile, more
predictable funding requirement in the future.
External events or factors affecting air travel
The civil aerospace business remains an important contributor to the Group's
revenues and profits. The willingness of passengers to travel by air is
influenced by a range of factors, including economic conditions, health and
security issues. Any prolonged reduction in air travel would impact airlines'
revenues and cash flows, and potentially reduce their need for new engines,
spare parts or aftermarket support services.
Exposure to this risk is mitigated by the Group's business strategy, which has
driven it to become a global operation with a broader business base, with 50
per cent of revenues and 40 per cent of earnings now generated outside the
civil aerospace business from its defence aerospace, marine and energy
businesses.
The Group's crisis management plan and framework would be instrumental in
responding to, and recovering from, wider external events such as the impact of
terrorist activity or an influenza pandemic.
Environmental impact of products and operations
The Group recognises that its products and business operations have an impact
on the environment, particularly related to climate change. Rolls-Royce is
determined to be part of the solution to these environmental challenges and
continues to make significant investment in innovative solutions for the
aviation, marine and energy markets. The challenge is being addressed through
the enhancement of current product ranges and affordable research and
development into complementary technologies such as nuclear power, fuel cells
and tidal energy. The Group continues to work closely with its customers,
industry partners and other stakeholders to implement these development
opportunities.
A robust governance structure headed by the Environment Council directs and
monitors improvements in the environmental performance of the Group's products,
and the Environmental Advisory Board reviews and makes recommendations on the
environmental aspects of the Group's products and business operations (see
pages 42 to 53).
Strategic risks
Delivery of aftermarket
The Group's revenues are balanced between original equipment delivery and
aftermarket services. The growth in product sales provides a large installed
base, of which a high proportion has successfully been contracted under
long-term post-sale support arrangements, so that aftermarket revenues now
constitute a majority of forecast revenue. A significant failure to deliver the
aftermarket commitments made to its customers and meet anticipated contractual
profitability could have an adverse impact on the Group's financial results and
reputation. The Group places great importance on working closely in partnership
with its customers to understand their operations and align the Group's service
capability to meet their needs. Within the dedicated services organisation,
management initiatives have developed robust processes, structures and networks
to ensure required support levels can be delivered effectively and
economically. Nevertheless, economic pressures on commercial aviation, as well
as changes in regulations, could lead to reductions in utilisation rates and
operational budgets, representing a continuing threat to the realisation of
future revenues.
Competitive pressures
The markets in which Rolls-Royce operates are highly competitive. The majority
of its programmes are long term in nature and access to key platforms is
critical to the success of the business. This requires sustained investment in
technology, capability and infrastructure, all creating high barriers to entry.
However, these factors alone do not protect the Group from competition,
including pricing and technical advances made by competitors.
The Group has developed a balanced business portfolio and maintained a steady
focus on improvement in operational performance, for example through the
modernisation of its facilities. This, together with the establishment of
long-term customer relationships and sustained investment in technology
acquisition, allows the Group to respond to competitive pressures.
Export controls
Rolls-Royce designs and supplies a number of gas turbine products and services
for the defence aerospace market. Many countries in which the Group conducts
its business operate legislation controlling the export of specified goods and
technology intended or adaptable for military application. The Group is
committed to complying with the requirements from national governments in all
jurisdictions when exporting goods, parts, technologies or information,
although globalisation of the Group's operations brings with it complexities of
concurrent but differing national export control legislation. Non-compliance
with export controls is recognised as a principal risk to both programme
performance and the Group's reputation.
The exports committee, chaired by the Chief Operating Officer, directs the
Group's strategy and policy on exports. Export control managers are embedded
throughout the business and the Group will continue to implement any necessary
changes to ensure that it maintains the capability necessary to monitor and
comply with requirements.
Financial risks
These are risks that arise as a result of movements in financial markets.
Principal risks are:
- movements in foreign currency exchange rates;
- interest rates;
- commodity prices; and
- counterparty credit risk.
A description of these risks and details of the Group's risk mitigation actions
in this area are provided in the Finance Director's review.
Operational risks
Performance of supply chain
The Group's products and services are delivered through the effective operation
of its facilities and key capabilities, including its supply chain. The Group's
success in strengthening its market position places increased reliance on the
performance of the supply chain. The Group manufactures approximately 30 per
cent by value of its gas turbine products, the remainder being provided through
external suppliers, including risk and revenue sharing partners. Meeting
delivery commitments on schedule, cost and quality are critical to the
achievement of business goals. The Group has a consistent focus on cost
reduction and performance improvement and it continues to modernise its
production facilities to improve productivity and reduce costs. Investment in
developing world-class manufacturing processes is continuing in Asia, North
America and Europe. This also drives development of the external supply chain
through sourcing of parts from many new countries.
Global supply chains are inevitably complex with numerous inter-relationships
with a wide variety of organisations. While the Group's strategy is to improve
integration and simplify the internal and external elements of its supply chain
by building strategic links with fewer, stronger suppliers, it is still prone
to disruption from financial or physical causes. A major disruption in any of
these elements would adversely affect the Group's ability to deliver its
operational commitments and would have the potential to affect financial
returns.
The planning for, and management of, any such interruption is addressed through
the Group's business continuity management process. Substantial progress has
been made in the deployment of business continuity management systems and
structures to assess the likelihood and potential impacts of a catastrophic
disruption to the Group's key facilities. In addition to the Group's
comprehensive programme of business interruption insurance, significant
investment is being undertaken to establish, where possible, dual sourcing of
key components. Increased focus is also being applied to understanding and
addressing sources of risk arising in the external supply chain, particularly
those associated with financial instability. Procedures are in place to
monitor, assess and respond in such circumstances.
IT security
The continuing globalisation of the business and advances in technology have
resulted in more data being transmitted across international communication
links, posing an increased security risk. There is also the possibility of
unintentional loss of controlled data by authorised users. In either case,
adverse impacts upon operational effectiveness, the value of intellectual
property, legislative compliance or the reputation of the Group might arise.
The active sharing of information through industry and government forums and
the continual upgrading of security equipment and software mitigate these
risks.
Ethics
The Group recognises the benefit that is derived from conducting business in an
ethical and socially responsible manner. This approach extends from the
sourcing of raw materials and components to the manufacture and delivery of
products and services. It applies to the provision of a safe and healthy place
of work and investment in technologies to reduce the environmental impact of
the Group's products and operations. Shortcomings in any of these areas could
damage the Group's reputation and disrupt its business.
The Group is committed to maintaining high ethical standards. A global code of
business ethics has been issued to employees and a face-to-face training and
engagement programme is in place in order to strengthen employee awareness of
the Group's values. The Group's ethical standards are also communicated to the
Group's first-tier supply base through a supplier code of conduct. Concerns
regarding potentially unethical behaviours can be reported in confidence via
dedicated global telephone and internet channels. All such reports are followed
up and will be monitored by the recently formed ethics committee.
Programme risk
The Group manages complex product programmes with demanding technical
requirements against stringent, and sometimes fluctuating, customer schedules.
This requires the co-ordination of the engineering function, manufacturing
operations, the external supply chain and other partners. Failure to achieve
programme goals would have significant financial and reputational implications
for the Group.
The Group seeks continuous improvement of all its processes and employs project
management controls on a routine basis. All major programmes are subject to
Board approval and are reviewed regularly by the Board with a particular focus
on the nature and potential impact of emerging risks and the effective
mitigation of previously identified threats.
Review of operations
Key businesses and activities
We focus on investing in technology and capabilities that can be successfully
applied to our advanced products and services. We then market and sell these
through our four main customer facing businesses: civil aerospace, defence
aerospace, marine and energy.
Our manufacturing base is becoming increasingly global, as is our supply chain,
as we seek to bring our products to market in the most efficient way. We have
established a global service organisation with more than 50 locations around
the world to bring us closer to our customers.
This section of the report reviews the year for each of the customer facing
businesses, including our services activity, and the key functions of
engineering and operations.
Civil aerospace
- Agreements signed with risk and revenue sharing partners for 40 per cent of
Trent XWB programme
- Trent 1000 ready for first flight of Boeing 787
- Successful entry into service of Trent 900 with Singapore Airlines and Qantas
on the Airbus AFF80
- Successful entry into service of IAE V2500 SelectOneTM
- Successful first run of BR725 for the new Gulfstream G650
Key financial data 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying revenue £m 4,502 4,038 3,907 3,406 3,072
+11 % +3 % +15 % +11 % +13 %
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying profit before financing £m 566 564 519 454 208
+0 % +9 % +14 % +118 % +24 %
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Net assets £m 330 2,468 2,165 1,617 1,740
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Other key performance indicators
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Order book £bn 43.5 35.9 20.0 19.0 16.2
+21 % +80 % +5 % +17 % +13 %
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Engine deliveries 987 851 856 881 824
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying services revenues £m 2,726 2,554 2,310 2,016 1,838
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying services revenues % 61 63 59 59 60
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
% of fleet under management 57 55 48 45 45
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying revenue £4.5bn
Market opportunity over 20 years US$1,250bn
The civil aerospace business powers over 30 types of commercial aircraft from
business jets to the largest widebody airliners. A fleet of over 12,000 engines
is in service with 600 airline customers and 4,000 corporate operators.
The business continued to perform strongly in 2008 despite the impact of
worsening economic conditions on customers and on the air travel market in
general. Underlying revenue grew by 11 per cent. This result was driven by
increases in new engine deliveries, which approached 1,000 units, and by
continued growth of services revenues which accounted for over 60 per cent of
total sales. The first half of 2008 continued to see strong order intake and,
while order activity slowed in the second half of the year, the total order
book for civil aerospace grew to £43.5 billion. Underlying profit was flat
year-on-year.
In the corporate and regional market, the 3,000th AE 3007 engine was delivered.
Meanwhile, the newest member of the Group's corporate engine family, the BR725
for the new Gulfstream G650 corporate aircraft, achieved first engine run on
time in April. The G650 has enjoyed unprecedented market interest, reinforcing
the Group's leading position in the corporate market.
V2500 SelectOne, the latest successful V2500 engine standard, produced by the
International Aero Engines (IAE) consortium, in which Rolls-Royce is a major
shareholder, entered service with IndiGo Airlines of India.
The Trent family continues to enjoy significant success. The Trent 900-powered
Airbus AFF80 completed a year of service and demonstrated excellent reliability
with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Qantas.
Further orders for the engine were received from SIA and Thai Airways
International. The Trent 900 has now been selected by ten of the 13 operators
that have ordered the AFF80 and made an engine decision. The Trent 700
continued to win over 70 per cent of orders placed for the Airbus AFF30.
Significant additional orders were also placed for the Trent 1000 for the
Boeing 787, which has now been selected by about 50 per cent of operators, and
for the Trent XWB, which is currently the only engine offered for the Airbus
AFF50 XWB. Entry into service of the Boeing 787 has been delayed until 2010,
but maturity testing of the Trent 1000 has continued with successful
demonstration of endurance programmes equivalent to two years of service. The
Trent XWB programme attracted considerable interest from risk and revenue
sharing partners with agreements signed by the end of 2008 for around 40 per
cent of the programme, with major partners including KHI and MHI of Japan, ITP
of Spain, Volvo of Sweden, Hispano-Suiza of France and Parker Hannifin of the
US.
We continued to secure services contracts, achieving a record year for
CorporateCareTM sales and selling TotalCareTM with approximately 90 per cent of
new Trent engine orders. A larger Operations and Data Centre was opened in
September to support the growing large-engine fleet under Rolls-Royce service
contracts, now totalling 5,300 engines.
We are actively exploring technologies and programmes that address
environmental and sustainability issues relevant to our business. Through our
Option 15-50 programme we continue to pursue a comprehensive range of leading
technologies and engine architectures to meet these challenges.
Global air travel and air freight is already being affected by the economic
downturn. The scale of the future impact is unclear, with airframe delays and
concerns about customer financing adding to the uncertainties surrounding
engine volumes.
The Group expects engine deliveries to fall in 2009 with an increasing risk of
deferrals and cancellations, weaker volumes in the narrowbody and the corporate
and regional sectors, and stable Trent deliveries for widebody aircraft.
Growth in services revenues will be modest in 2009, held back by lower
utilisation levels, the impact of parked aircraft and some softening of
uncontracted `Time and Material' services revenues. As a consequence,
underlying profits will be lower in 2009.
Defence aerospace
- £700 million contract secured for UK strategic tanker aircraft
- US$915 million contract for AE 2100 engines signed with Alenia
- Development of the F136 engine for the F-35 funded for 2009
- US$131 million F-35 Rolls-Royce LiftSystem® contract awarded
- £258 million service and support contract for Gnome helicopter engines
- £198 million contract to support UK Pegasus engine fleet
Key financial data 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying revenue £m 1,686 1,673 1,601 1,420 1,374
+1 % +4 % +13 % +3 % -2 %
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying profit before financing £m 223 199 193 180 179
+12 % +3 % +7 % +1 % +22 %
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Net assets £m (197 ) (172 ) 20 55 131
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Other key performance indicators
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Order book £bn 5.5 4.4 3.2 3.3 3.3
+25 % +38 % -3 % 0 % +22 %
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Engine deliveries 517 495 514 565 548
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying services revenues £m 947 877 853 787 768
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying services revenues % 56 52 53 55 56
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
% of fleet under management 12 11 11 8 5
_________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Underlying revenue £1.7bn
Market opportunity over 20 years US$450bn
Rolls-Royce is Europe's largest defence aero-engine company, serving 160
customers in 103 countries and with 18,000 engines in service.
We have a product range of 25 engines that power aircraft across the key market
sectors of combat, transport, helicopters, trainers, patrol, maritime and
reconnaissance.
During 2008, the business continued to strengthen its market position, winning
key contracts across its product and service range, particularly in the growing
transport aircraft and military support sectors. This included the development
of our innovative range of aftermarket services, known as MissionCare®, which
enables Rolls-Royce to tailor support services solutions to customers'
individual requirements.
The new operations facility in Bristol, UK, opened in the first quarter of
2008. It delivers a step change in engine assembly, development and logistics
and, in combination with more flexible working practices, brings greater
effciencies to the manufacturing process.
In the combat aircraft market, the EJ200 powerplant for the Typhoon aircraft
achieved several landmarks, with the 500th engine delivery and 100,000 flying
hours in operational service.
We also made progress on both engine programmes for the Joint Strike Fighter.
First flight of the F-35 STOVL (short take off and vertical landing) version,
fitted with the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem®, took place in May and the first
LiftSystem production contract was secured in December at a value of US$131
million.
The F136 engine, jointly developed with GE for all F-35 variants, achieved US
Government funding for 2009 and passed its test milestones prior to delivery of
the first production standard engine in early 2009.
We also consolidated our market lead in the transport aircraft market, signing
a US$915 million agreement with Alenia Aeronautica for the AE 2100 engine in
the C-27J military transport aircraft. This engine also won further orders for
its application in the C-130J.
Defence aerospace's other major collaborative programme - the TP400 engine for
the A400M military transport aircraft - made progress in the year. It has
completed more than 2,000 hours of ground testing and has successfully
undertaken its first flights on the flying testbed.
As a shareholder and sub-contractor of the AirTanker consortium, we secured a
27-year engine and support contract worth over £700 million from the UK
Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the UK's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft under
an innovative private finance scheme. This Airbus AFF30M aircraft is powered by
the civil Trent 700, representing new aftermarket opportunities for this engine
in a defence environment.
Orders for our innovative aftermarket solutions included a US$90 million engine
availability contract for the T-45 Goshawk trainer with the US Navy, and the UK
MoD's first full availability contract to support its Gnome-powered Sea King
helicopter fleet at a value of £258 million. In the helicopter sector, the
RR300 was certified ahead of schedule and the first Rolls-Royce Honeywell LHTEC
T800 engine was delivered to AgustaWestland for the UK Future Lynx Battlefield
Reconnaissance programme.
Looking to the future, we are working on two important research and technology
programmes for the US Air Force, Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (ADVENT)
and the Highly EFFcient Embedded Turbine Engine (HEETE).
In the unmanned vehicle sector, we have been selected to provide the Integrated
Power System for the UK's Mantis demonstrator, while we continue to work on the
MoD Taranis unmanned combat vehicle demonstrator. The Rolls-Royce AE 3007
engine, which powers the Global Hawk high altitude unmanned aerial
reconnaissance system, was selected for the new US Broad Area Maritime
Surveillance programme.
Significant opportunities exist in the global defence market, particularly in
the combat, transport, unmanned and helicopter sectors. The business also
continues to develop innovative aftermarket solutions, with services now
generating over 50 per cent of sales. Further strong growth in engine
deliveries for the military transport sector is expected to support another
year of profit growth in 2009.
Marine
- £901 million of sales in the offshore sector
- £96 million contract to power new Royal Navy aircraft carriers
- Order book grown to £5.2 billion
- Major global services expansion now under way
Key financial data 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
__________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___
Underlying revenue £m 2,204 1,548 1,299 1,097 963
+42 % +19 % +18 % +14 % -4 %
__________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___
Underlying profit before financing £m 183 113 101 89 78
+62 % +12 % +13 % +14 % 0 %
__________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___
Net assets £m 488 563 619 674 651
__________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___
Other key performance indicators
__________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___
Order book £bn 5.2 4.7 2.4 1.7 1.4
+11 % +96 % +41 % +21 % +17 %
__________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___
Underlying services revenues £m 712 545 487 435 397
__________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___
Underlying services revenues % 32 35 37 40 41
__________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___
% of fleet under management 35 33 3 3 0
__________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___
Underlying revenue £2.2bn
Market opportunity over 20 years US$320bn
Marine is now the second largest Rolls-Royce business in revenue terms, with a
world-class range of capabilities and expertise in naval surface ships,
submarines, offshore oil and gas and merchant vessels. It has equipment
installed on over 30,000 vessels, including those of 70 navies, representing a
major opportunity for services growth.
The marine business has enjoyed a year of very strong growth. Our revenues
since 2005 have doubled and increased by 42 per cent on 2007, driven by
continuing growth in our offshore business which itself grew by 38 per cent in
2008. Marine profit has also increased by 62 per cent in 2008.
As our installed base of equipment grows, we are expanding our services
capability and investing in new service centres globally to realise the
significant opportunity that this represents. In addition, the expertise
established in our aerospace businesses, including equipment health monitoring
and long-term service agreements, is being applied to further increase marine's
service revenues.
The offshore sector has been central to our 2008 performance, based on the
success of our specialist UT-Design and integrated systems capability which is
the industry benchmark. Driven by significant investment in deep water
exploration and production by the oil and gas industry, the sector has
generated record sales of £901 million in 2008.
We have been particularly successful in the Asian offshore market, winning
orders valued at £666 million in 2008 including contracts worth £84 million to
supply propulsion equipment for offshore vessels being built in China and
Korea. Two further landmark orders were received from China: a £58 million
contract with China Oilfield Services Ltd and a £13 million contract with BGP
Marine China to design and equip an advanced seismic research vessel.
During 2008, we acquired Scandinavian Electric Holding, which has further
increased our capability in the design and supply of power electric systems.
This enhances our ability to provide systems for offshore vessels, thereby
increasing our overall market size. Our proven offshore system capabilities are
also being utilised in the development of specialist merchant ships, such as
the contract to design and power two vessels for Sea-Cargo AS which will be
equipped with innovative gas-fuelled Bergen engines.
Our naval business also won a milestone order in 2008: a £96 million contract
to provide power and propulsion equipment, including four MT30 gas turbines,
for the UK's new aircraft carriers. As part of the Carrier Alliance,
Rolls-Royce is supplying an integrated system which includes the propellers and
propeller shafts as well as rudders, stabilisers and some electrical systems.
2008 was the 50th anniversary of our relationship with the UK Government on the
design, production and support of nuclear plant for the Royal Navy's submarine
fleet. The submarines business is primarily focused on service and support,
underpinned by an innovative £1 billion service contract with the MoD signed in
2007.
In 2009, marine will establish a global headquarters in Singapore which will
enhance our global position and bring us closer to key customers in Asia.
There were some modest cancellations in 2008 but a record order book, market
leading positions in the offshore sector and demand for high specification
vessels provide good visibility of revenues in 2009 and support continuing
strong growth in profitability over the year.
Energy
- Industrial Trent achieved record sales of over US$380 million
- Services business had record year with over 200 gas turbine packages now
under TotalCare contracts
- Civil nuclear business established to address the growing global market
- Significant investment in production and test facilities
Key financial data 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
Underlying revenue £m 755 558 546 535 538
+35 % +2 % +2 % -1 % +2 %
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
Underlying profit before financing £m (2 ) 5 (18 ) 1 (7 )
-140 % +128 % -1900 % +114 % +61 %
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
Net assets £m 392 370 387 390 453
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
Other key performance indicators
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
Order book £bn 1.3 0.9 0.5 0.4 0.4
+44 % +80 % +25 % 0 % 0 %
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
Engine deliveries 64 32 44 61 47
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
Underlying services revenues £m 370 289 251 219 248
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
Underlying services revenues % 49 52 46 41 46
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
% of fleet under management 9 7 6 5 5
__________________________________________ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___
Underlying revenue £0.8bn
Market opportunity over 20 years US$120bn
The energy business is a world-leading supplier of power systems for onshore
and offshore oil and gas applications, and has a growing presence in the
electric power generation sector. It supplies products to customers in over 120
countries.
Order intake remained strong in 2008, with services once again posting a record
year and continuing to account for nearly 50 per cent of total energy sales.
African and Asian oil and gas markets were particularly active in 2008, with
eight RB211 packages ordered for installation off the shores of West Africa,
and six new compression sets for pipeline service in India. Other oil and gas
RB211 packages were ordered for customers in China, Malaysia and Algeria.
Of particular significance was a year-end order, for eight Rolls-Royce driven
compression sets from a unit of the Russian natural gas company, Gazprom. The
new packages will be installed on the Nord Stream pipeline project running
under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. They are scheduled for delivery in
2010, with service expected to start in late 2011.
Market acceptance of the industrial Trent drove another record year in the
global power generation sector, with orders received in excess of US$270
million. These included 13 Trents for power generation service in Australia,
Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, New Caledonia and Slovakia.
In North America, we continued to establish the Trent's growing footprint in
the high-demand north east US power generation market. Successful start-up and
commissioning was completed for a Trent genset package at Lowell,
Massachusetts, while construction continues for two Trent units at Braintree,
Massachusetts for which start-up is scheduled in the second quarter of 2009.
Reservations for an additional 18 Trent units in North America were also
received.
The aftermarket business experienced another record year in 2008 with sales of
£370 million. Over 200 Rolls-Royce gas turbine packages were covered by
TotalCare agreements by year-end; this number is expected to increase to over
250 by mid-2009. Our product upgrades business also delivered another strong
year, enhancing customer value by applying new gas turbine technology to
increase the efficiency and power of in-service units. Over 40 Avon 200 gas
turbine upgrades have been delivered over the past two years to increase the
power and efficiency of these highly reliable machines, while demand for
control system and centrifugal compressor upgrades also continues to grow as a
result of enhanced product performance benefits.
As part of our strategy to accommodate growing production volume efficiently,
we consolidated packaging operations into our Mount Vernon, Ohio facility and
ceased operations at our Liverpool, UK facility. Two new lean assembly flow
lines, dedicated to Trent and RB211 packages, were opened in 2008, and
construction began on seven new gas turbine test beds which will become
operational in the second quarter of 2009.
In 2009, further growth in original equipment revenues, particularly in the
power generation sector, combined with increased services activity and lower
investment in fuel cells, is expected to deliver a modest level of profit for
the business. While our energy business currently centres on the gas turbine,
the skills and technical knowledge within the Group allow us to identify and
explore new growth opportunities in the energy market.
The most significant of these in the near term is civil nuclear, where, through
our experience of manufacturing and supporting nuclear reactors for the Royal
Navy's submarine fleet, we have a strong and unique capability. In 2008, we
established a new business to address the market arising from renewed global
demand for nuclear power.
Engineering and Technology
- Global research network expanded
- Further research work in US secured
- Europrop International TP400 flew for the first time
- WR-21, the world's most efficient marine gas turbine, entered service
- Trent 60 WLE dual fuel started service operation
Key performance indicators 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
__________________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Gross research and development
expenditure £m 885 824 747 663 601
__________________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Net research and development
expenditure £m 490 454 395 339 282
__________________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Net research and development
charge £m 403 381 370 282 288
__________________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Net research and development
expenditure % of underlying revenue 5.4 5.8 5.4 5.2 4.7
__________________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
The Group's engineering and technology activity includes our research and
technology, product development and product upgrade operations across our four
customer-facing businesses.
We have 9,600 people in our worldwide engineering network, with major centres
in the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Scandinavia, India and Singapore. In addition,
the Group leverages resources through its global network of 29 University
Technology Centres (UTC) in seven countries, which develop and acquire
technologies for tomorrow's Rolls-Royce products. This network further expanded
in 2008 with the opening of a UTC in Pusan, Korea, to develop high efficiency
heat exchangers.
In 2008, we have continued to invest in a broad range of technology development
and demonstration programmes. Research and development expenditure was £885
million, of which £490 million was funded from Group resources. The net charge
to the income statement was £403 million. A significant proportion of this
technology provides the foundation for products with reduced environmental
impact while delivering increased value to our customers.
Building on our past research successes we filed 425 patent applications in
2008, a record year for the Group.
We have made good progress on two US Air Force premier technology programmes,
ADVENT and HEETE, and won a further award for the Integrated Vehicle Energy
Technology (INVENT) programme.
In Europe, we successfully ran the Power Optimised Aircraft (POA) engine
demonstrator, integrating electrically driven engine components which
traditionally are powered mechanically. We also achieved encouraging noise
level results from a rig test demonstrating the open rotor aero engine, which
has the potential to deliver a step reduction in fuel consumption.
We continued, with partners, to develop two low-carbon energy technologies. The
construction of the 500kW underwater tidal power turbine prototype has started
and we also began system testing our solid oxide fuel cells. However, we have
taken the decision to focus future fuel cells activity on the development of
the technology rather than production and manufacturing verification in order
to match product readiness with market demand.
Our focus on modern manufacturing continues with the opening of the Factory of
the Future, the latest development of the Advanced Manufacturing Research
Centre in Sheffield, UK. We are also making good progress on the Advanced
Forming Research Centre in Glasgow, UK, and three other manufacturing research
centres globally.
In defence aerospace, the Rolls-Royce LiftFan flew on the Joint Strike Fighter
in conventional mode, ahead of full system testing in 2009. The TP400,
developed by the Europrop International consortium, for the A400M military
transport aircraft, flew for the first time on the flying testbed.
In civil aerospace, the Trent 900 demonstrated excellent reliability during its
first full year in service with Singapore Airlines and is also in operation
with Qantas. The Trent 1000 continues to build its maturity on the test bench,
awaiting first flight of the Boeing 787. The first BR725 for the Gulfstream
G650 ran on time and the engine is making good progress towards certification.
The Trent XWB for the Airbus AFF50 XWB has now largely completed its
preliminary design stage.
Our drive for improved in-service engine reliability continues, with engine
health monitoring data and analysis techniques delivering globally competitive
and improving levels of fleet reliability.
HMS Daring, the first of the WR-21 powered Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers, was
handed over to the Royal Navy in 2008. The engine, with its intercooled and
recuperated cycle, is the world's most efficient marine gas turbine.
The Littoral Combat Ship USS Freedom was commissioned for US Navy service,
demonstrating successful integration of two MT30s, the most powerful marine gas
turbine in the world, derived from the Trent 800 aero engine. The MT30s
together with four Rolls-Royce Kamewa 153 S11 waterjets drive this 3,000 tonne
ship at speeds in excess of 40 knots.
The long life nuclear core was successfully installed in the first Astute class
submarine for the Royal Navy. With this reactor core the submarine can operate
for its whole lifespan without refuelling.
Operations
- Increased demand from all businesses managed effectively by the supply chain
- New product introductions included the BR725, MT30 and JSF LiftSystem
- Successfully rephased production on Trent 900 and Trent 1000 programmes
- Underlying revenues per employee up 18 per cent
- New joint ventures signed with both GKN plc and Goodrich Corporation
Key performance indicators 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
_______________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Capital expenditure £m 283 304 303 232 191
_______________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Product cost index - year-on-year
(increase)/decrease % (4 ) (7 ) (5 ) 0 5
_______________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Sales per employee £'000 233 193 192 186 169
_______________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Our supply chain provides parts for both the original equipment and aftermarket
areas of our business. It responded extremely positively to a significant
increase in demand from all sectors, supporting a growth in underlying revenue
of 17 per cent in 2008. New product introductions and the impact of programme
slippages were also managed effectively. Through our make/buy strategy, we
continued to focus on making only those parts which are rich in intellectual
property in order to maximise value. The strategy was underpinned by ongoing
supply chain rationalisation and the development of strategic supplier
relationships, exemplified by the agreement of risk and revenue sharing
partnerships for 40 per cent of the Trent XWB programme.
Business process improvements and the ongoing roll out of new process systems
like SAP and PLM continued to drive operational efficiency, for example
enabling the reduction of 2,300 jobs in support functions. As a result,
productivity measured as underlying revenues per employee, improved by 18 per
cent on 2007. Our modern domestic factories continued to improve their
productivity. However, commodity prices resulted in a product cost index rise
of four per cent. A range of new product introductions was managed during the
year, with the first run of the BR725 engine for the Gulfstream G650, first
flight of the F-35 STOVL variant for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and plans
established to deliver orders for the MT30 naval gas turbine and the JSF
LiftSystem. We also successfully rephased our production programmes for the
Trent 1000 and 900 engines in response to programme slippages on the Boeing 787
and Airbus AFF80.
In the medium to long term, our record order book will drive a significant
increase in the load on our supply chain, though the timing of this increased
activity will be affected by programme slippages and the economic downturn. We
are phasing the development of our new manufacturing facilities in Singapore
and Crosspointe, US, to take account of these impacts in order to meet demand
in a timely fashion.
In November 2008, we announced proposed global job reductions for 2009 of
around 1,500-2,000, as a result of economic uncertainties and individual
programme developments. We will continue to recruit graduates, apprentices and
other employees in order to support areas of particular growth.
Our Business Process Improvement programme continued to direct spend on
information technology. We continued to introduce our design and data
management tool, PLM, and our planning and scheduling tool, SAP, notably into
Hong Kong Aero Engine Services Limited (HAESL), our Hong Kong repair and
overhaul joint venture. Our services processes will be further enhanced in 2009
with the application of the Maximo planning tool.
We expanded our capability during the year, establishing strategic joint
ventures with GKN plc, to develop composite materials for fan blades, and
Goodrich Corporation, to develop and manufacture engine controls.
Our success is based on operational excellence, strong partnerships and
technological superiority. We would like to thank all our employees, suppliers
and partners for their commitment to these core principles and for their hard
work during the year.
Services
- Service revenues increased by 11 per cent to £4.8 billion
- 57 per cent of the civil aerospace fleet now under TotalCare support
- More than 8,000 engines and auxiliary power units covered by in-service
monitoring
- Expansion of joint ventures in Hong Kong and Singapore
- Global repair services created, increasing focus on repair technology
- Expanded capability of global Operation Centres, including satellite sites
with two major customers
Key performance indicators 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
_______________________________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Underlying services revenue £m 4,755 4,265 3,901 3,457 3,251
_______________________________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Underlying services as percentage
of Group revenue 52 55 53 54 55
_______________________________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
The Group's services business includes field services, the sale of spare parts,
equipment overhaul services, parts repair, data management, equipment leasing
and inventory management services. These services are typically sold as a
package under our TotalCare banner.
Group service revenues increased by 11 per cent in 2008, driven by good
progress across all sectors. Services represented 52 per cent of Group
revenues. The strongest growth was recorded in marine, demonstrating the value
of expanding our service network in this sector. Our latest service centre in
Mumbai was opened in May and later in the year we entered into an agreement
with Abu Dhabi Shipbuilders to provide waterjet services in the Middle East.
During 2008, we continued to invest in our civil aerospace service network,
with extensions to both Singapore Aero Engine Services Limited (SAESL) and Hong
Kong Aero Engine Services Limited (HAESL) under construction.
This capacity will come on stream in 2009 and 2011 respectively and is being
funded without recourse to the joint venture shareholders. In its first full
year of operation, the overhaul facility we have established with Lufthansa,
N3, has made steady progress, successfully introducing Trent 700 capability and
expanding its customer base. Our field support capability has also been
enhanced with the opening of our eighth On-Wing Care centre, in Brazil, and we
are developing capability in the UAE in conjunction with Mubadala Development
Corporation. On-Wing Care services were provided for over 3,000 engines across
the year.
We have continued to expand our services provision with the successful
deployment of our Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), now in its third year. The EFB
provides, among other applications, a key data acquisition capability to
optimise overall aircraft and fleet fuel usage.
The TotalCare model encourages an integrated approach, which means we work
closely with our customers to optimise the operation of their assets while
carefully managing costs. We conduct in-service monitoring for over 8,300
engines worldwide, providing engine health monitoring and data analysis
services in conjunction with our expanded Operations Centres. This enables
real-time data acquisition and analysis to maximise operational performance for
our customers in parallel with optimising support costs.
We are also increasing the focus on overhaul costs, reorganising our component
repair activities during the year to establish Global Repair Services. This
organisation takes a strategic approach to repair development and is investing
in advanced repair processes.
Contract highlights for the year included agreements with US Airways to support
its RB211-535 fleet with a TotalCare package and a similar contract with IAE
for its V2500 fleet. TotalCare support arrangements now cover 57 per cent of
the civil aerospace fleet. In defence aerospace we competed for and
successfully retained the F405 US Navy contract, which we have been executing
for the past five years, the new contract being for a further year with four
one year extension options. Also notable were a number of helicopter contracts
including a £258 million award from the UK MoD to support Gnome engines. In the
energy business, ten long-term service agreements were won with a total value
of £160 million. We expect to agree a further ten energy contracts covering 50
new gas turbine units that will be installed during 2009, taking the number of
packages under long-term service agreements to over 250, or around 20 per cent
of the fleet.
The upgrade and standardisation of our IT systems to support the services
business continued and underpinned our expanded-capability Operations Centre,
opened in the UK during 2008. We have also defined a suite of integrated
Service Life Cycle Management processes and supporting IT tools that we are
rolling out Group-wide in a multi-year programme. The highlight for the year
was a flawless implementation of SAP at HAESL where the site achieved near
record output in the month the system went live.
We remain confident that our service model is aligned with our customers'
interests, encouraging us to focus on maximising the effectiveness of their
assets. This alignment and focus drive the investment in capability and
improved delivery that is the hallmark of our services business.
Finance Director's review
Andrew Shilston
Introduction
The progress made by the Group in 2008 should be viewed against a rapidly
deteriorating external environment with significant negative pressures starting
to influence many industries and companies.
The Group delivered a strong 17 per cent increase in underlying revenues, a ten
per cent increase in underlying profit before tax to £880 million and a further
£570 million cash inflow which benefited from retranslation effects. The strong
improvement in profits was achieved despite some significant headwinds, notably
a further eight cents deterioration in the GBP/USD achieved rate that cost the
Group £104 million in 2008; and there was a four per cent increase in unit
costs.
The published results were heavily influenced by the significant adjustments in
foreign exchange rates in 2008, especially the GBP/USD and the GBP/EUR which
are explained below.
The Group benefited from a strong financial position and credit rating with net
cash of £1,458 million at the year end and with average net cash throughout the
year of £375 million. The changes made to the Group's UK pension schemes in
2007 mean that the deficit has remained stable and modest and the schemes ended
the year with a net deficit of £142 million, as detailed in note 18 of the
financial statements on page 126. The very unusual circumstances that have
developed through 2008 in global debt markets have, however, caused a large,
unrecognised surplus to develop on the UK defined benefit pension schemes.
The redemptions on the Group's existing bond financing, at around £1.0 billion,
are well spread with no material maturities in 2009, US$187 million due in the
second half of 2010 and a 750 million note due in 2011 as shown in the chart
below. The Group had a further £650 million in term funding available to it
that was undrawn at the year end.
Foreign exchange effects on published results
The pace and extent of currency movements have had a significant effect on the
Group's financial reporting in 2008, with the sterling exchange rate with the
US dollar and the euro having the biggest impact. These movements have
influenced both the reported income statement and the cash flow and closing net
cash position, (as set out in note 2 and the cash flow statement in the
financial statements), in the following ways:
1. Income statement - the most important impact was the end of year mark to
market of outstanding financial instruments (foreign exchange contracts,
interest rate, commodity and jet fuel swaps). The principal adjustments related
to the GBP/USD hedge book. The principal movements in 2008 were as follows:
Open Close
____________________ __________ __________
GBP - USD £1 - $ 1.991 £1 - $ 1.438
GBP - EUR £1 - € 1.362 £1 - € 1.034
Oil - Spot Brent $93/bbl $49/bbl
____________________ __________ __________
The impact of this mark to market is included in net financing in the income
statement and caused a net £2.5 billion cost, contributing to a published loss
before tax of £1,892 million. These adjustments are non-cash, accounting
adjustments required under IAS39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and
Measurement. As a result, reported earnings do not reflect the economic
substance of derivatives that have been settled in the financial year, but do
include the unrealised gains and losses on derivatives that will only affect
cash flows when they are settled at some point in the future to match trading
cash flows.
Underlying earnings are presented on a basis that shows the economic substance
of the Group's hedging strategies in respect of transactional exchange rates
and commodity price movements. Further details and information are included
within the section on key performance indicators on page15 and in notes 2 and 5
of the financial statements.
The achieved rate on selling net US dollar income will be similar in 2009 to
that in 2008 and will gradually improve thereafter as the Group is able to
absorb the lower value of sterling in its hedge books into the achieved rate.
The revaluation costs, which are measured at a point in time, do not,
therefore, represent additional currency headwinds. The improving average rate
in the hedge book will lead to improving achieved rates over time.
2. Cash flow and balance sheet - the Group maintains a number of currency cash
balances which vary throughout the financial year. Given the significant
movements in foreign exchange rates in 2008, a number of these cash balances
were inflated by the effects of retranslation at the year end, causing an
increase of £439 million in the 2008 cash flow and hence the closing balance
sheet cash position.
Summary
The Group's revenues increased by 22 per cent in 2008 to £9,082 million with 84
per cent of revenues from customers outside the UK.
- Underlying growth of 11 per cent in civil aerospace revenues was supported by
strong growth from original equipment with 987 engines delivered in the year, a
16 per cent increase over 2007, and growth across all sectors - widebody,
narrowbody and corporate and regional. Services revenues increased by seven per
cent over 2007.
- Underlying defence aerospace revenues were similar to 2007 with new equipment
revenues down seven per cent and services revenues increasing by eight per cent
over 2007.
- The marine business continued to grow rapidly in 2008 with underlying
revenues increasing 42 per cent from 2007 to £2,204 million, driven by strong
demand for product and support in the offshore oil and gas sector. Overall new
equipment revenues increased by 49 per cent to £1,492 million with services
revenues increasing 31 per cent to £712 million.
- The energy business made good progress in the year with underlying revenues
up 35 per cent, supported by good growth in both original equipment and
services activities.
Overall underlying services revenues increased by 11 per cent in 2008 to £4,755
million and accounted for 52 per cent of Group revenues for the year.
Underlying profit margins before financing costs reduced slightly from 10.6 per
cent in 2007 to ten per cent in 2008. The reduction in margin was the result of
an increased proportion of original equipment to service revenues, increased
unit costs and further headwinds on foreign exchange. These were partially
offset by the benefits of increased volumes, improving productivity and cost
reduction activity. Underlying financing costs remained relatively stable at £
39 million (2007 £32 million) including net interest of £10 million and finance
costs associated with financial risk and revenue sharing partnerships.
Restructuring charges in 2008 increased to £82 million (2007 £52 million) as
the Group continued its focus on operational improvements, including the
reduction in the number of people working in support functions. These costs are
included within operating costs.
A final payment to shareholders of 8.58p per share, in the form of C Shares, is
proposed, making a total of 14.30p per share, a ten per cent increase over the
2007 total.
Order book
The order book at December 31, 2008, at constant exchange rates, was £55.5
billion (2007 £45.9 billion) with strong growth across all divisions.
This included firm business that had been announced but for which contracts had
not yet been signed of £6.1 billion (2007 £7.1 billion). In civil aerospace, it
is common for a customer to take options for future orders in addition to firm
orders placed. Such options are excluded from the order book.
In defence aerospace, long-term programmes are often ordered for only one year
at a time. In such circumstances, even though there may be no alternative
engine choice available to the customer, only the contracted business is
included in the order book.
Aftermarket services agreements, including TotalCare packages, represented 26
per cent of the order book, having increased by £1.4 billion in the year. These
are long-term contracts where only the first seven years' revenue is included
in the order book.
Aftermarket services
The Group continues to be successful in developing its aftermarket services
activities. These grew by 11 per cent on an underlying basis in 2008 and
accounted for 52 per cent of Group revenue.
In particular, TotalCare packages in the civil aerospace sector now cover 57
per cent, by value, of the installed fleet. TotalCare packages cover long-term
management of the maintenance and associated logistics for our engines and
systems, monitoring the equipment in service to deliver the system availability
our customers require with predictable costs. The pricing of such contracts
reflects their long-term nature. Revenues and costs are recognised based on the
stage of completion of the contract, generally measured by reference to flying
hours. The overall net position of assets and liabilities on the balance sheet
for TotalCare packages was an asset of £848 million (2007 £550 million).
Cash
Cash inflow during the year was £570 million (2007 £562 million, before the
special injection of £500 million into the UK pension schemes). Continued
growth in underlying profits and good cash conversion were supported by
increases in customer deposits and progress payments of £400 million and the
benefit of £439 million from year-end currency revaluations.
Working capital increased by £38 million during the year with increased
inventory of £208 million, offset by reduced financial working capital of £170
million. Inventory increased in the year to support growth across all
businesses and to minimise disruption during the transition to new operational
facilities. Some reductions in deposits are expected in 2009.
Cash investments of £675 million in property, plant and equipment and
intangible assets and payments to shareholders of £200 million represented the
major cash outflows in the period. Tax payments increased in the year to £117
million (2007 £71 million).
As a consequence average net cash was £375 million (2007 £350 million). The net
cash balance at the year end was £1,458 million (2007 £888 million).
Taxation
The overall tax credit on the loss before tax was £547 million (2007 £133
million charge), a rate of 28.9 per cent (2007 18.1 per cent). The tax credit
in 2008 mainly reflects the loss caused by the mark to market of outstanding
financial instruments at the year end.
The tax charge on underlying profit was £217 million (2007 £193 million) a rate
of 24.7 per cent (2007 24.1 per cent).
The overall tax credit was increased by £25 million in respect of the expected
benefit of the UK research and development tax credit. This reduced the
underlying tax charge by the same amount. In addition, £11 million of
provisions for prior years' tax liabilities were written back following
settlement of a number of outstanding tax issues. The underlying tax rate is
expected to increase to around 26 per cent.
The operation of most tax systems, including the availability of specific tax
deductions, means that there is often a delay between the Group tax charge and
the related tax payments, to the benefit of cash flow.
The Group operates internationally and is subject to tax in many differing
jurisdictions. As a consequence, the Group is routinely subject to tax audits
and examinations which, by their nature, can take a considerable period to
conclude. Provision is made for known issues based on management's
interpretation of country specific legislation and the likely outcome of
negotiation or litigation.
The Group believes that it has a duty to shareholders to seek to minimise its
tax burden but to do so in a manner which is consistent with its commercial
objectives and meets its legal obligations and ethical standards. While every
effort is made to maximise the tax efficiency of its business transactions, the
Group does not use artificial structures in its tax planning. The Group has
regard for the intention of the legislation concerned rather than just the
wording itself. The Group is committed to building open relationships with tax
authorities and to following a policy of full disclosure in order to effect the
timely settlement of its tax affairs and to remove uncertainty in its business
transactions. Where appropriate, the Group enters into consultation with tax
authorities to help shape proposed legislation and future tax policy.
Transactions between Rolls-Royce subsidiaries and associates in different
jurisdictions are conducted on an arms-length basis and priced as if the
transactions were between unrelated entities, in compliance with the OECD Model
Tax Convention and the laws of the relevant jurisdictions.
Before entering into a transaction the Group makes every effort to determine
the tax effect of that transaction with as much certainty as possible. To the
extent that advance rulings and clearances are available from tax authorities,
in areas of uncertainty, the Group will seek to obtain them and adhere to their
terms.
Pensions
The charges for pensions are calculated in accordance with the requirements of
IAS 19 Employee Benefits.
The decision by the trustees of each of the principal UK defined benefit
schemes, in consultation with the Group, to adopt a lower risk investment
strategy during 2007 has served its members and the Group well during 2008. The
combination of: i) reducing the overall UK pensions asset allocation to
equities from approximately 80 per cent to 20 per cent; ii) hedging the
majority of interest rate and inflation risks associated with the pension
liabilities, using swap contracts backed by short-term money market assets; and
iii) an incremental £500 million cash contribution from the Group to the main
UK defined benefit schemes in 2007, has significantly reduced volatility and
losses as equity prices and interest rates have fallen.
Reducing the volatility of the pension schemes is the primary objective of the
revised investment strategy to enable the trustees and the Group to plan a
schedule of more stable contributions with greater confidence of the schemes
being fully funded in the future.
Further information and details of the pensions' charge and the defined benefit
schemes' assets and liabilities are shown in note 18 to the financial
statements. The net deficit, after taking account of deferred tax, was £93
million (2007 £88 million). Changes in this net position are affected by the
assumptions made in valuing the liabilities and the market performance of the
assets.
Investments
The Group continues to subject all investments to rigorous examination of risks
and future cash flows to ensure that they create shareholder value. All major
investments require Board approval.
The Group has a portfolio of projects at different stages of their life cycles.
Discounted cash flow analysis of the remaining life of projects is performed on
a regular basis. Sales of engines in production are assessed against criteria
in the original development programme to ensure that overall value is enhanced.
Gross research and development investment amounted to £885 million (2007 £824
million). Net research and development charged to the income statement was £403
million (2007 £381 million). The level of self-funded investment in research
and development is expected to remain at approximately five per cent of Group
sales in the future. The impact of this investment on the income statement will
reflect the mix and maturity of individual development programmes and will
result in a similar level of net research and development charged within the
income statement in 2009.
The continued development and replacement of operational facilities contributed
to the total investment in property, plant and equipment of £283 million (2007
£304 million). Investment in 2009 is anticipated to be slightly reduced from
the 2008 level as the investments in new facilities in the US and Singapore are
rephased to reflect the timing of major new airframe programmes.
Investment in training was £30 million (2007 £30 million).
Intangible assets
The Group carried forward £2,286 million (2007 £1,761 million) of intangible
assets. This comprised purchased goodwill of £1,008 million, engine
certification costs and participation fees of £403 million, development
expenditure of £456 million, recoverable engine costs of £213 million and other
intangible assets of £206 million.
Expenditure on intangible assets is expected to increase modestly in 2009.
Partnerships
The development of effective partnerships continues to be a key feature of the
Group's long-term strategy. Major partnerships are of two types: joint ventures
and risk and revenue sharing partnerships.
Joint ventures
Joint ventures are an integral part of our business. They are involved in
engineering, manufacturing, repair and overhaul, and financial services. They
are also common business structures for companies participating in
international, collaborative defence projects. They share risk and investment,
bring expertise and access to markets, and provide external objectivity. Some
of our joint ventures have become substantial businesses. A major proportion of
the debt of the joint ventures is secured on the assets of the respective
companies and is non-recourse to the Group.
Risk and revenue sharing partnerships (RRSPs)
RRSPs have enabled the Group to build a broad portfolio of engines, thereby
reducing the exposure of the business to individual product risk. The primary
financial benefit is a reduction of the burden of research and development (R&
D) expenditure on new programmes.
The related R&D expenditure is expensed through the income statement and the
initial programme receipts from partners, which reimburse the Group for past R&
D expenditure, are also recorded in the income statement, as other operating
income.
RRSP agreements are a standard form of co-operation in the civil aero-engine
industry. They bring benefits to the engine manufacturer and the partner.
Specifically, for the engine manufacturer they bring some or all of the
following benefits: additional financial and engineering resource; sharing of
risk; and initial programme contribution. As appropriate, the partner also
supplies components and as consideration for these components, receives a share
of the long-term revenues generated by the engine programme in proportion to
its purchased programme share.
The sharing of risk is fundamental to RRSP agreements. Partners share financial
investment in the programme, in general they share:
- market risk as they receive their return from future sales;
- currency risk as their returns are denominated in US dollars;
- sales financing obligations;
- warranty costs; and
- where they are manufacturing or development partners, technical and cost
risk.
Partners that do not undertake development work or supply components are
referred to as financial RRSPs and are accounted for as financial instruments
as described in the accounting policies on page 91.
In 2008, the Group received other operating income of £79 million (2007 £50
million).
Payments to RRSPs are recorded within cost of sales and increase as the related
programme sales increase. These payments amounted to £268 million (2007 £199
million).
The classification of financial RRSPs as financial instruments has resulted in
a liability of £455 million (2007 £315 million) being recorded in the balance
sheet and an associated underlying financing cost of £26 million (2007 £26
million) recorded in the income statement.
In the past, the Group has also received government launch investment in
respect of certain programmes. The treatment of this investment is similar to
non-financial RRSPs.
Risk management
The Board has an established, structured approach to risk management. The risk
committee (see page 69) has accountability for the system of risk management
and reporting the key risks and associated mitigating actions. The Director of
Risk reports to the Finance Director. The Group's policy is to preserve the
resources upon which its continuing reputation, viability and profitability are
built, to enable the corporate objectives to be achieved through the operation
of the Rolls-Royce business processes. Risks are formally identified and
recorded in a corporate risk register and its subsidiary registers within the
businesses, which are reviewed and updated on a regular basis, with risk
mitigation plans identified for significant risks.
Financial risk
The Group uses various financial instruments in order to manage the exposures
that arise from its business operations as a result of movements in financial
markets. All treasury activities are focused on the management and hedging of
risk. It is the Group's policy not to trade financial instruments or to engage
in speculative financial transactions. There have been no significant changes
in the Group's policies in the last year.
The principal economic and market risks continue to be movements in foreign
currency exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices. The Board
regularly reviews the Group's exposures and financial risk management and a
specialist committee also considers these in detail.
All such exposures are managed by the Group Treasury function, which reports to
the Finance Director and which operates within written policies approved by the
Board and within the internal control framework described on page 80.
Counterparty credit risk
The Group has an established policy for managing counterparty credit risk. A
common framework exists to measure, report and control exposures to
counterparties across the Group using value-at-risk and fair-value techniques.
The Group assigns an internal credit rating to each counterparty, which is
assessed with reference to publicly available credit information, such as that
provided by Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and other recognised market sources,
and is reviewed regularly.
Financial instruments are only transacted with counterparties that have a
publicly assigned long-term credit rating from Standard & Poor's of `A-' or
better and from Moody's of `AFF' or better.
Funding and liquidity
The Group finances its operations through a mixture of shareholders' funds,
bank borrowings, bonds, notes and finance leases. The Group borrows in the
major global markets in a range of currencies and employs derivatives where
appropriate to generate the desired currency and interest rate profile.
The Group's objective is to hold financial investments and maintain undrawn
committed facilities at a level sufficient to ensure that the Group has
available funds to meet its medium-term capital and funding obligations and to
meet any unforeseen obligations and opportunities. The Group holds cash and
short-term investments which, together with the undrawn committed facilities,
enable it to manage its liquidity risk.
Short-term investments are generally held as bank deposits or in `AAA' rated
money market funds. The Group operates a conservative investment policy which
limits investments to high quality instruments with a short-term credit rating
of `A-1' from Standard & Poor's or better and `P-1' from Moody's. Counterparty
diversification is achieved with suitable risk-adjusted concentration limits.
Investment decisions are refined through a system of monitoring real-time
equity and credit-default swap (CDS) price movements of potential investment
counterparties which are compared to other relevant benchmark indices and then
risk-weighted accordingly.
During 2008, the Group did not experience any capital losses relating to its
investments as a result of the credit crisis.
The Group increased its borrowing facilities during 2008 with the addition of a
new £200 million loan facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) relating
to research and development. As at December 31, 2008 the Group had total
committed borrowing facilities of £1.7 billion (2007 £1.5 billion). There are
no material debt facility maturities until 2011. The maturity profile of the
borrowing facilities is staggered to ensure that refinancing levels are
manageable in the context of the business and market conditions.
There are no rating triggers contained in any of the Group's facilities that
could require the Group to accelerate or repay any facility for a given
movement in the Group's credit rating.
The Group's £250 million bank revolving credit facility contains a rating price
grid, which determines the borrowing margin for a given credit rating. The
Group's current borrowing margin would be 20 basic points (bp) over sterling
LIBOR if drawn. The borrowing margin on this facility increases by
approximately 5bp per one notch rating downgrade, up to a maximum borrowing
margin of 55bp. The facility was not drawn during 2008.
There are no rating price grids contained in the Group's other borrowing
facilities.
The Group continues to have access to all the major global debt markets.
Credit rating
The Group subscribes to both Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's
for its official publicised credit ratings. As at December 31, 2008 the Group's
assigned long-term credit ratings were:
Rating agency Rating Outlook Category
______________ ______ _______ ___________
Moody's A3 Stable Investment
grade
______________ ______ _______ ___________
Standard A- Stable Investment
& Poor's grade
______________ ______ _______ ___________
As a long-term business, the Group attaches significant importance to
maintaining an investment grade credit rating, which it views as necessary for
the business to operate effectively. The Group's objective is to maintain an
`A' category investment grade credit rating from both agencies.
Currency risk
The Group is exposed to movements in exchange rates for both foreign currency
transactions and the translation of net assets and income statements of foreign
subsidiaries.
The Group regards its interests in overseas subsidiary companies as long-term
investments and manages its translational exposures through the currency
matching of assets and liabilities where applicable. The matching is reviewed
regularly, with appropriate risk mitigation performed where material mismatches
arise.
The Group is exposed to a number of foreign currencies. The most significant
transactional currency exposures are US dollars to sterling and US dollars to
euros.
The Group manages its exposure to movements in exchange rates at two levels:
i) Revenues and costs are currency matched where it is economic to do so. The
Group actively seeks to source suppliers with the relevant currency cost base
to avoid the risk or to flow down the risk to those suppliers that are capable
of managing it. Currency risk is also a prime consideration when deciding where
to locate new facilities. US dollar income converted into sterling represented
26 per cent of Group revenues in 2008 (2007 25 per cent). US dollar income
converted into euros represented four per cent of Group revenues in 2008 (2007
four per cent).
ii) Residual currency exposure is hedged via the financial markets. The Group
operates a hedging policy using a variety of financial instruments with the
objective of minimising the impact of fluctuations in exchange rates on future
transactions and cash flows.
Market exchange rates
2008 2007
___________________________ _____ _____
USD per GBP
___________________________ _____ _____
- Year-end spot rate 1.438 1.991
___________________________ _____ _____
- Average spot rate 1.854 2.001
___________________________ _____ _____
EUR per GBP
___________________________ _____ _____
- Year-end spot rate 1.034 1.362
___________________________ _____ _____
- Average spot rate 1.258 1.461
___________________________ _____ _____
The permitted range of the amount of cover taken is determined by the written
policies set by the Board, based on known and forecast income levels.
The forward cover is managed within the parameters of these policies in order
to achieve the Group's objectives, having regard to the Group's view of
long-term exchange rates. Forward cover is in the form of standard foreign
exchange contracts and instruments on which the exchange rates achieved are
dependent on future interest rates. The Group may also write currency options
against a portion of the unhedged dollar income at a rate which is consistent
with the Group's long-term target rate. At the end of 2008 the Group had
US$17.1 billion of forward cover (2007 US$9.4 billion).
The consequence of this policy has been to maintain relatively stable long-term
foreign exchange rates. Note 16 to the financial statements includes the impact
of revaluing forward currency contracts at market values on December 31, 2008,
showing a negative value of £2,181 million (2007 positive value of £379
million) which will fluctuate with exchange rates over time. The Group has
entered into these forward contracts as part of the hedging policy, described
above, in order to mitigate the impact of volatile exchange rates.
Interest rate risk
The Group uses fixed rate bonds and floating rate debt as funding sources. The
Group's policy is to maintain a proportion of its debt at fixed rates of
interest having regard to the prevailing interest rate outlook. To implement
this policy the Group may utilise a combination of interest-rate swaps,
forward-rate agreements and interest-rate caps to manage the exposure.
Commodity risk
The Group has an ongoing exposure to the price of jet fuel and base metals
arising from business operations. The Group's objective is to minimise the
impact of price fluctuations. The exposure is hedged, on a similar basis to
that adopted for currency risks, in accordance with parameters contained in
written policies set by the Board.
Sales financing
In connection with the sale of its products, the Group will, on some occasions,
provide financing support for its customers. This may involve the Group
guaranteeing financing for customers, providing asset-value guarantees (AVGs)
on aircraft for a proportion of their expected future value, or entering into
leasing transactions.
The Group manages and monitors its sales finance related exposures to customers
and products within written policies approved by the Board and within the
internal framework described in the corporate governance section. The
contingent liabilities represent the maximum discounted aggregate gross and net
exposure that the Group has in respect of delivered aircraft, regardless of the
point in time at which such exposures may arise.
The Group uses Ascend Worldwide Limited as an independent appraiser to value
its security portfolio at both the half year and year end. Ascend provides
specific values (both current and forecast future values) for each asset in the
security portfolio. These values are then used to assess the Group's net
exposure.
The permitted levels of gross and net exposure are limited in aggregate, by
counterparty, by product type and by calendar year. The Group's gross exposures
were divided approximately 55:45 between AVGs and credit guarantees in 2008
(2007 55:45). They are spread over many years and relate to a number of
customers and a broad product portfolio.
The Board regularly reviews the Group's sales finance related exposures and
risk management activities. Each financing commitment is subject to a credit
and asset review process and prior approval in accordance with Board
delegations of authority.
The Group operates a sophisticated risk-pricing model to assess risk and
exposure.
Costs and exposures associated with providing financing support are
incorporated in any decision to secure new business.
The Group seeks to minimise the level of exposure from sales finance
commitments by:
- the use of third-party non-recourse debt where appropriate;
- the transfer, sale, or reinsurance of risks; and
- ensuring the proportionate flow down of risk and exposure to relevant RRSPs.
Each of the above forms an active part of the Group's exposure management
process.
Where exposures arise, the strategy has been, and continues to be, to assume
where possible liquid forms of financing commitment that may be sold or
transferred to third parties when the opportunity arises.
Note 23 to the financial statements describes the Group's contingent
liabilities. There were no material changes to the Group's gross and net
contingent liabilities during 2008.
Accounting standards
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as adopted by the EU. No
standards or interpretations that become effective during 2008 had a
significant impact on the Group's financial statements.
A summary of other changes, which have not been adopted in 2008, is included
within the accounting policies in note 1 to the financial statements.
Share price
During the year the Company's share price decreased by 39 per cent from 546p to
335.5p, compared to a 28 per cent decrease in the aerospace and defence sector
and a 31 per cent decrease in the FTSE100. The Company's shares ranged in price
from 547p in January to 249p in October.
The number of ordinary shares in issue at the end of the year was 1,844
million, an increase of 24 million of which 12 million related to share options
and 12 million related to conversion of B Shares into ordinary shares.
The average number of ordinary shares in issue was 1,820 million (2007 1,800
million).
Andrew Shilston
Finance Director February 11, 2009
Note:
Related party transactions
Significant transactions in the financial year were as follows:
2008 2007
£m £m
___________________________________________ _____ _____
Sale of goods and services to joint ventures 1,555 1,289
Purchases of goods and services from joint (1,482 ) (1,100 )
ventures
___________________________________________ _____ _____