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Rolls-Royce shakes off legacy issues, for now

The UK engineering giant settled corruption claims ahead of its full-year figures, although that respite might be short-lived
February 9, 2017

Given the scale, global reach and strategic importance of its business, the last thing that Rolls-Royce (RR.) needs is the distraction of claims linked to bribery and corruption. Ahead of publication of its full-year figures, the UK aerospace giant finally reached a provisional deal with UK and other international regulators over claims it paid bribes to land highly lucrative contracts.

IC TIP: Hold at 702p

The £671m agreement with the UK's Serious Fraud Office, the US Department of Justice and Brazil's Ministério Público Federal removes a troubling legacy issue but attention will now pass to how the group’s core business has been faring ahead of a year that is expected to see growth in the civil aviation market.