LONDON, March 18, 2026, 14:00 GMT
Rolls-Royce shares rose 2.9% in London on Wednesday after the British engine maker secured 64 million euros of EU funding for its UltraFan 30 programme and, earlier this week, disclosed a 40-engine order tied to Atlas Air’s purchase of Airbus A350 freighters. The stock traded at 1,283.5 pence by 10:57 a.m. UTC, according to Reuters market data. 1
The move matters because investors have been testing whether Rolls can regain momentum after slipping back from the record highs hit on Feb. 26, when it raised 2026 and mid-term targets, reported 2025 underlying operating profit of 3.46 billion pounds — its preferred measure excluding some one-off items — and set out a 7 billion-9 billion pound buyback for 2026-2028. New order flow and outside funding go straight to the two ideas behind that rally: stronger widebody demand now, and a path back into narrowbody engines later. 2
UltraFan 30 is Rolls-Royce’s smaller demonstrator for future narrowbody aircraft — the single-aisle jets that make up the busiest part of commercial aviation. The company said the EU Clean Aviation money will support ground testing in 2028, and research and technology director Alan Newby called it “an important step” toward future narrowbody applications. 3
That longer-term push matters because Rolls pulled out of the current generation of narrowbody engines years ago, while rival GE Aerospace is already testing future single-aisle technology. The new UNIFIED project gives Rolls industrial cover as well as cash, bringing in partners including Airbus, ITP Aero and Lufthansa Technik. 4
On the demand side, Atlas Air said it would buy 20 Airbus A350 freighters, and Rolls said that translated into 40 Trent XWB-97 engines plus TotalCare, its long-term service package covering engine health and maintenance. Rob Watson, president of civil aerospace, called the deal “another endorsement” of the engine’s reliability, while Reuters reported Atlas expects deliveries from 2029 to 2034. 5
The wider market helped, too. London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3% by 1044 GMT and the aerospace and defence index rose 2% as oil prices eased, but Rolls still outpaced the main benchmark. 6
That future-engine story now sits beside a widebody business that already lifted earnings in 2025. Reuters reported in February that Rolls’ new mid-term margin target would bring it into line with GE Aerospace, its main widebody rival. 2
But the next leg up is not locked in. Reuters reported Airbus delayed the first A350F delivery to the second half of 2027 because of production and supply-chain problems, while Rolls has said current pricing still reflects disruption and cost pressure in the supply chain; Reuters also reported in February that United Airlines had thrown its stalled A350 order into doubt in a contract dispute with Rolls-Royce. 7
Erginbilgic said last month it was “natural” that government would support further UltraFan work as partner talks continued. Even after Wednesday’s rise, FT market data showed the shares were still about 9.5% below the 1,420-pence 52-week high set on Feb. 26. 2
