New Airbus contracts offset Boeing production issues for aviation firm

'We’ll be able to continue to mitigate any issues with lower sales of Boeing with other sales,' said Senior plc chief executive David Squires. File Picture: Elaine Thompson/AP

Aviation engineering firm Senior plc posted a 10% rise in first-half profits as new and extended contracts with Airbus offset production issues with the Boeing 737 MAX.

A combination of business with Airbus, Spirit Aerosystems, Rolls-Royce, and other aerospace firms helped Senior in the first half, said chief executive David Squires.

Aerospace and defence firms have been benefiting from increased demand for planes as flying hours reach pre-pandemic levels, offsetting production caps at Boeing.

“We’ll be able to continue to mitigate any issues with lower sales of Boeing with other sales,” said Mr Squires, while retaining Senior’s annual outlook.

“Senior [is] very well positioned to benefit from a recovery in a number of its key end markets over the next few years,” analysts at Jefferies said in a statement.

Under its Flexonics division, the downstream oil and gas and nuclear businesses helped offset normalising in the upstream unit — where customers reduced inventory levels.

The Flexonics unit makes fluid conveyance and thermal management components for vehicles and power and energy applications.

Senior, a supplier to both Boeing and Airbus, reported adjusted operating profit of £25.1m (€29.1m), up from £22.9m last year.

• Reuters