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Melrose Industries PLC on Friday said all of its end markets were growing structurally amid rapidly increasing demand in the defence sector, as it increased its dividend amid a swing to profit. The Birmingham, England-based aerospace engineering company reported pretax profit of £379 million in the first half of 2025, swung from a loss of £105 million. Adjusted pretax profit climbed 22% to £248 million from £204 million. Revenue fell 1.3% to £1.72 billion from £1.74 billion, but cost of sales decreased 5.4% to £1.27 billion from £1.34 billion, and operating expenses were cut to just £13 million from £466 million. The company declared an interim dividend of 2.4 pence per share, up 20% from 2.0p a year ago. Melrose kept its full year guidance on a constant currency basis unchanged. Chief Executive Officer Peter Dilnot said: ‘Our multi-year transformation programme will be completed by year end and the benefits are already reading through with more to come. We have a clear strategy underpinned by attractive aerospace and defence markets, differentiated technology and established positions on the world’s leading civil and defence aircraft. We are confident about delivering sustained increases in profit and cash flow in the years ahead and our free cash flow target of £600 million in 2029.’ The company added: ‘All our end markets continue to grow structurally with rapidly increasing demand in defence. Our unique design-led portfolio effectively locks in growth through our established original equipment and aftermarket positions. We are also making great progress with commercialising our technology with new target opportunities, while contributing to the next generation of flight.’ Melrose shares were up 6.1% to 543.20 pence each on Friday morning in London, the top gainer in the FTSE 100 index, itself down 0.5%. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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