ROLLS-ROYCE has reported a fall in half-yearly pre-tax profits due to shrinking government defence spending and currency headwinds.
In a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange this morning, the firm, which has its civil aerospace and nuclear divisions in Derby, said that in the six months to the end of June it made £644 million.
This was down on the £804 million the firm made during the same period last year.
But the firm said it expected profits to be down in the first half of this year, with most of its profits being generated in the second half.
As a result, the company said it was on course to meet its full-year expectations, which analysts believe is a profit of £1.65 billion.
In February, Rolls-Royce told investors that there would be a pause in profit growth this year, ending a decade of continuous rises, as the firm absorbed the impact of falling military budgets in the US and Europe.
Civil aerospace is Rolls-Royce's largest division, employing about 12,000 people in Derby.
