LONDON, March 18, 2026, 14:00 GMT
Shares in Rolls-Royce climbed 2.9% in London Wednesday, following news that the company won 64 million euros in EU funding for its UltraFan 30 project. Earlier this week, Rolls-Royce also announced a 40-engine order connected to Atlas Air’s new Airbus A350 freighters. As of 10:57 a.m. UTC, the stock was trading at 1,283.5 pence, Reuters data showed.
The move is significant as investors have been probing whether Rolls can pick up speed again after pulling back from those record highs seen Feb. 26. On that day, the company lifted its 2026 and mid-term goals, reported 2025 underlying operating profit at 3.46 billion pounds—its favored metric, excluding certain one-offs—and mapped out a 7 billion to 9 billion pound buyback plan for 2026-2028. Fresh orders and external funding both tie back to the main drivers of that earlier surge: widebody demand that’s holding up right now, plus ambitions to re-enter the narrowbody engine market down the line.
Rolls-Royce’s UltraFan 30 — its smaller test engine designed for future single-aisle jets — targets the narrowbody market, the workhorse segment for airlines. Funding from the EU Clean Aviation program will back ground tests scheduled for 2028, the company said. Alan Newby, research and technology chief, described the funding as “an important step” toward bringing UltraFan 30 to narrowbody aircraft. Rolls-Royce
The longer-term play is significant here—Rolls dropped out of the existing narrowbody engine race years back, even as GE Aerospace pushes ahead with next-gen single-aisle tests. Now, with the new UNIFIED project, Rolls gets both funding and some industrial backup, teaming up with Airbus, ITP Aero, and Lufthansa Technik.
Atlas Air is set to buy 20 Airbus A350 freighters, triggering an order for 40 Trent XWB-97 engines from Rolls-Royce, along with the company’s TotalCare service package for ongoing engine health and maintenance. Rob Watson, who heads civil aerospace at Rolls, described the agreement as “another endorsement” of the XWB-97’s reliability. Reuters noted Atlas is aiming for deliveries between 2029 and 2034. Rolls-Royce
The broader market lent some support. By 1044 GMT, London’s FTSE 100 had climbed 0.3%, with the aerospace and defence index gaining 2% as oil prices pulled back. Rolls, though, continued to push ahead of the main benchmark.
The future-engine narrative runs parallel to a widebody division that’s already boosting 2025 earnings. Back in February, Reuters flagged that Rolls’ updated mid-term margin goal would match GE Aerospace—the company’s chief widebody competitor.
Still, there’s no guarantee for a smooth climb from here. Airbus has pushed back the first A350F delivery to the latter half of 2027, after running into production and supply-chain snags, according to Reuters. Rolls-Royce, for its part, maintains that current pricing is shaped by ongoing supply chain disruptions and stubborn cost pressures. And back in February, Reuters reported that United Airlines cast doubt on its own delayed A350 order, caught in a contract dispute with Rolls-Royce.
Last month, Erginbilgic called it “natural” for the government to back more UltraFan development while partnership discussions dragged on. After Wednesday’s gains, FT market data had the stock still trailing its Feb. 26 52-week high by about 9.5%, at 1,420 pence. Reuters
