British engine maker Rolls-Royce posted a 2005 operating profit of GBP£679 million (USD$1.18 billion) on Thursday, a jump of 40 percent, helped by higher after-service sales.
Pretax profit rose 49 percent to GBP£584 million (USD$1.02 billion) on sales up 9 percent to GBP£6.6 billion (USD$11.49 billion) while lucrative after-service sales rose by 12 percent.
Service accounted for 59 percent of civil aerospace sales.
The company said its average net debt in 2005 fell to GBP£260 million (USD$452.6 million) from GBP£632 million (USD$1.1 billion).
Rolls-Royce has been buoyed by strong new plane orders for both Airbus and Boeing in 2005, at a combined total of 2,057. The orders set the stage for a jump in output at Airbus and Boeing and in expected deliveries of Rolls-Royce engines.
Chief Executive John Rose told reporters that Rolls-Royce would continue development work on a second engine for the Joint Strike Fighter combat jet despite a 2007 US defense budget request which has dropped planned funding.
"We haven't given up," he said. "It's fully funded for this year... It's a development program, not a production program, and we'll continue to work on it."
US President George W Bush's 2007 budget request this month scrapped a USD$2.4 billion deal with General Electric and Rolls-Royce to develop a second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The Pentagon had planned to offer a choice of engines for the first F-35s, but mounting budget pressures and high war costs led it to opt for a single engine supplier.
Along with commercial and military jet engines, Rolls-Royce manufactures ship engines and equipment used in the energy industry.
