Rolls-Royce shares take off as profit more than doubles

Rolls-Royce (RR.) chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said that 2023 was “a big year” for the aerospace group. The company saw its fortunes transformed, with operating profit more than doubling to £1.6bn. A £1bn increase in statutory free cash flow to £2.5bn also helped to cut net debt from £3.3bn to £2bn, and the FTSE 100 constituent made its first double-digit return on capital since 2017.